All We Are
by Reign of Rayne
Summary: Ace doesn't know who he is or how he ended up nearly bleeding out on some stranger's doorstep. What he does know is that the mysterious man named Sabo is willing to help him figure it out.
1. Chapter 1

_Here it is, my OP Big Bang story!_

 _First, some necessary thank-yous. So: thank you to Bea for organizing everything and just being an all-around awesome person. Thank you as well to Khaz, my artist partner for this fun adventure. And, finally, thank you to everyone who has supported my writing. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to updating my other stories, yeah? (Ha.)_

 _This story focuses on modern-AU ASL with plenty of appearances or mentions of other OP characters. It gets a little graphic, but nothing too bad, so no need to worry about that._

 _Read, enjoy, and review!_

* * *

Chapter 1

When he'd woken up on the couch, he'd expected…more. He couldn't say what, exactly, he'd been expecting, but the strange quiet of the room had had him on edge immediately. He tried to sit up, but agony exploded from his midsection and he stayed down, sweating and panting from the abrupt shattering of his pain threshold.

Where was he?

His eyes scanned the room, but it was largely bare and offered few hints of where he could be. There were a few paintings on the walls, two simple designs and one complicated one that he couldn't quite understand. A plant occupied one corner, and two armchairs took up the space opposite the couch. He could see a TV and several bookshelves on one of the walls, and a few stacks of miscellaneous documents precariously placed nearby.

There was a map spread out over the coffee table next to him, but he couldn't quite read it from his prone position.

He blew out a breath, annoyance surging up from within him. He couldn't say why, but the feeling of being immobile and vulnerable made him nervous, and he looked at everything in the room with distrust, half-expecting something or someone to jump out and attack him.

A sudden bang, followed closely by a string of curses, caused him to flinch and then grit his teeth at the pain. His eyes went to the side of the couch, which blocked his view of wherever those noises had come from.

He heard scraping, and then a muttered string of words that didn't quite add up in his head. He had no other option but to wait, and every second that passed was worse than the last.

Where was he? Who else was there? How had he gotten here?

More questions ran rampant in his mind and he was agonizingly aware of how weak he currently was; he could barely even twitch his toes without hissing in pain.

Footsteps snapped him out of his frustration and he quickly closed his eyes, wondering if this person - who sounded like a man - would believe that he'd just been sleeping. It didn't seem plausible, but he figured that it was worth a shot.

The person approached slowly, each footsteps sounding oddly deliberate, and the reason didn't become clear until he heard a bowl being set down on the table.

"Hothothot," a man muttered. "Stupid. Why grab the oven mitt when I can just burn my fingers like an idiot?" A pause, then: "God, I can already hear Koala lecturing me about this."

He heard the clatter of what he assumed was silverware. The intoxicating scent of food drifted over to him and he automatically began to salivate, his stomach loudly making it clear that he hadn't eaten enough - or at all.

"I don't suppose you're awake?" The man's voice sounded young, and the statement almost seemed like a question. He didn't respond, and the man sighed. "Figures. It's only been...two days? Three? Yeah." Another sigh. When he spoke again, the man's voice was much softer. "What happened to you? You looked like death warmed over when you crawled to my doorway, and now you won't even wake up for my cooking..."

There were more sounds of silverware, and then a bottle being opened. "Fuck, I don't know what I'm doing. Law, why did you have to be out of town this week?"

The man lapsed into a despondent silence.

Deciding that he'd waited long enough, he opened his eyes, tilting his head just enough to make eye contact with the man that had been speaking.

He took in blond hair, a scarred face, and a surprisingly youthful build before the man reacted.

"You were awake the whole time?! C'mon, _say_ these things!"

He wasn't even sure if he could speak, but he felt that he should apologize. He tried, but his throat was scratchy and burned like fire when he attempted to force words out. Seeing his troubles, the blond-haired man gestured for him to stay silent.

"Sorry, sorry; you're probably hungry. And thirsty. Here, I made some broth."

The blond-haired man helped him to sit up, propping him against some cushions, and muttered a few apologies about the pain that he undoubtedly showed on his face at the shifting of his wounds.

Being spoon-fed felt almost degrading, but he swallowed his pride in favor of eating. The broth was heavenly, and he slurped down as much as he could before the man set the bowl aside. Water followed, and once more he had as much as he could.

"Th-thanks," he managed, his voice almost startling the other man, who then grinned.

"Not a problem. Now," the man said, his expression going from passively amused at the other's appetite to serious, "can you tell me your name, and how you wound up here? You're kind of a John Doe to me."

He opened his mouth to answer, a name on the tip of his tongue -

But it fled as soon as he tried to speak it, and he was left with nothing but the aftertaste, confusion knitting his brow and frustration burning in his eyes. Again he tried to say his name, knowing it was there, but it slipped from his grasp like so many grains of sand.

"I -" his voice faltered. Perhaps he could say where he was from, but when he tried the result was the same as before. Panic began to build within him, and he desperately groped for any information in his head, something that he knew that wasn't mundane, that was his and his alone -

There was nothing. He couldn't say the color of his eyes or the day he was born; he had no idea where he had come from or what he had been doing; he simply didn't know his own skin.

His breathing quickened and his stare was fixed on the far wall, almost burning a hole through it because what do I know what do I know I need to know something come on -

"Hey." He froze when the other man's hand rested on his shoulder, and his first instinct - to throw off the limb - met a painful end when his entire midsection erupted in fire the second he moved. "Careful! Those are only just healing, you know!"

"Sorry," he muttered, surprised at his own sincerity. "I just - I d-don't - there's n-nothing there!" The depths of his frustration must have shown clearly, because the other man gave him a reassuring half-smile.

"Relax, it'll be fine. Maybe you're still in shock from whatever gave you those injuries. Here, I'll give you my name, and then we can figure out what's going on, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Great!" The man stood to his full height - which was rather impressive - and bowed with a flourish, the motion so smooth and professional that he must have used it all the time. "The name is Sabo, just Sabo. I'm twenty, and you're currently in my apartment." He straightened and grinned encouragingly. "Now you try."

He did. He really did. But the words wouldn't come, and he was about to give Sabo a helpless look when a strange feeling flooded his limbs, making them feel all heavy, and his eyelids were drifting down, closing, and -

* * *

When he next woke up, he was still in the apartment, though it had taken him a minute to recognize his surroundings. His body felt numb, and when he looked down at it, he saw newer bandages than the ones he'd seen the last time. Swallowing, he looked around, wondering where Sabo was. The man seemed nice enough, and he was grateful that Sabo had taken care of him. If the pain his injuries generated was at all indicative of the severity of said wounds, he would have died without help.

His throat was dry again, and he cast his gaze around until it landed on the water bottle right in front of him. Feeling a little silly, he reached out and grabbed the bottle off the coffee table, easing himself into a sitting position before twisting the cap open and taking a quick drink. Only after he'd quenched his thirst and laid back down did the realization that he'd just moved on his own without crippling pain sink in, and by then he was too tired to care.

His eyes slid shut again, and he let his mind drift into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Hey, you awake?"

He blinked and squinted against the light that threatened to blind him. As his eyes adjusted, he looked at the man who had spoken, quickly identifying him as Sabo once he was able to see him clearly again. "Y-yeah." He noticed the expression on Sabo's face. "Is something wrong?"

Sabo sighed, his expression clearing. "No. Just...did you wake up a few days ago?"

He frowned, slowly sitting up, wincing in expectation of the pain only to become surprised when almost no pain came. After pondering that for a second, he returned his attention to Sabo. A few days? How long had he been unconscious for? "Maybe, w-why?"

"I just want to make sure that no one else was here," Sabo said placatingly, that genial grin of his back on his face. "After all, the whole theft thing would be rather awkward for me, you know?"

He didn't know, but decided that that wasn't important. "I th-think I did. Not sure wh-when." He suppressed a wince at the stutter. His brain kept needing a second to catch up to his mouth, and he was starting to get annoyed by it.

Sabo raised one eyebrow and then realization dawned. "Right! You probably don't - right. You've been unconscious for a little over five days, minus the four times you've been coherent."

He frowned, searching his memory. "I can only r-remember two."

"Partially coherent," Sabo amended. The man then took a seat in one of the armchairs, sprawling across it in such a way that the position looked enviably comfortable. "So, you remember anything?"

Once more, the information was on the tip of his tongue, and once more, it slid just out of his reach. Releasing a frustrated sigh, he shook his head. Sabo's expression dropped a little in disappointment, but it brightened again soon enough.

"Hey, that's fine. We'll just have to think of something." He snapped his fingers. "Oh! John. We'll call you John."

He didn't even have to blink. "No."

"What? Why not? It's a perfectly fine name."

"You're de-definitely thinking 'John Doe'. I'm an amnesiac, n-not an idiot."

Sabo pouted. "Fine. Then you think of something."

"How the hell a-am I supposed to think of a name off the t-top of my head?"

"You're so needy."

"Am not!"

The blond man snapped his fingers again, expression changing so fast it was as though a light bulb had gone on over his head. "I know!"

Two seconds later Sabo was at his side, gently pulling on his left arm.

"What are you d-doing?" He asked, watching as Sabo poked around the bandages winding around his bicep.

"Good, seems like this arm is mostly healed. You had a lot of scrapes and mild lacerations, like you were dragging it along the ground. Don't do that again, by the way."

As Sabo began unwinding those bandages, he asked the question again, never taking his eyes off the blond man's deft fingers. "Seriously, what a-are you doing?"

"Patience. I'm almost done."

His expression became almost petulant, but cleared when Sabo took off the last of the bandages with a triumphant, "Ha!"

"What?"

"You've got a tattoo on your arm here," Sabo said, lifting his arm so he could see.

"A-S-C-E?" He read. "Why's the 'S' crossed out?"

"Maybe you messed up the tattoo. But we can just call you this! It'll make it easy to remember, at least."

"Asce isn't a n-name, Sabo."

"But 'Ace' is," Sabo countered, stepping back again. "So, we'll call you Ace. Unless you want to be called 'As', or 'Acey'."

"I'll pass on that. 'Ace' is fine."

Ace blinked. That name...sounded right. Like -

"I think that is my n-name," he said slowly, trying it out a few times. It felt natural on his tongue, like it had been there before and now he could say it without it slipping away. "Yeah, it is. I think."

"You think?" Sabo repeated, one eyebrow arching. "Well, if that's the case, it should be easier to find out who you actually are. We'll just look for anyone named 'Ace'."

"Yeah," Ace agreed absently, still looking at his tattoo.

Why was the 'S' crossed out? He should know, he knew he should know, but the information hovered just out of his grasp. It was something important, something -

Something he couldn't remember. Still, he traced the letters, growing familiar with them all over again.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A little more than a week later, Ace was up and walking around. Sabo had lectured him at first, citing possible spinal damage, but after the third time catching Ace walking around (using the wall as a brace), he gave up.

Ace had immediately insisted on finding some way to pay Sabo back. Sabo had told him it wasn't necessary, but Ace hadn't taken no for an answer, and whenever Sabo wasn't at his apartment - which was more often than not, as whatever his job was required fair portions of his time - Ace tidied up the place, cleaning dishes and, when he felt up to it, preparing a meal for Sabo to have when he got home.

Oftentimes, Ace was asleep when Sabo got home, but he knew the blond-haired man appreciated his cooking. Ace wasn't the best cook around, though his warm meals and effort made it worth it. Plus, he was getting better each day, exploring new recipes and new facets of Sabo's kitchen, and the shaking in his hands had gradually eased with each passing day until it became unnoticeable. His stutter had also faded with time as Ace's brain finally synced up to his mouth.

Sabo was currently away, off doing whatever he always did. Ace never bothered to ask what exactly the man did for a living, figuring that it was rude and not his place. While he was gone, Ace was cleaning up the kitchen, since he'd been putting off dishes for the past two days, and even with only two people eating they had begun piling up.

He finished the last of the bowls, expertly kicking the dishwasher shut and starting the run cycle. Letting out a deep breath, he leaned his back against the counter while he dried his hands on a towel, trying to ignore how his legs and arms ached. Even after more than a week of getting up and moving - over two weeks since he'd woken up - Ace's body wasn't moving the way he wanted it to, and it felt so incredibly weak.

He'd have to work on that.

Eyes roaming the far wall, Ace frowned. He stared at a particular section of the wall, seeing that it was a slightly different shade of paint than the rest of the kitchen. Had Ace not spent so much time in the room over the past few days, he may not have noticed the subtle difference in color.

Setting down the cloth, Ace walked over to the patch of strange paint, running his hands over the surface. It certainly felt normal. Maybe they'd just run out of the original paint and gone for the next best thing.

But Ace was curious and bored, and that combination was not one that could be so easily dismissed. He gently rapped his knuckles against the wall, perking up when he heard it echo slightly. Checking the nearby walls, Ace concluded that only that section was hollow.

Why was it hollow? He ran his hands along the edges of the discolored section, feeling for anything that seemed out of place. Soon, his fingernails caught on a hair-thin seam mostly covered by paint. Grinning in triumph, Ace worked his nails under the seam and pulled as best he could.

Nothing happened. Smile fading, Ace tried again, only to meet the same result. Frowning, he came to the conclusion that he was missing something.

Stepping back from the wall, Ace tried to think. The wall he was looking at also functioned as the back wall of Sabo's room if his memory of the layout of this place was correct. Deciding to see if there was anything going on in Sabo's room, Ace slowly walked down the short hallway, rounding a corner and then turning into Sabo's room. He didn't turn on the light - sunlight filtered through the window, illuminating the room well enough - and stepped over to the far wall, eyes roving the surface to see if there was anything wrong or different about it.

Again, he found nothing.

Was that kitchen wall just weird? Feeling a little silly, Ace began to leave Sabo's room, only to freeze in the doorway. A niggling sense that something wasn't adding up up tugged at him, pulling him back down the short hallway to the kitchen. He then walked back, counting his steps. Ace repeated the process twice more to make sure, and then went to Sabo's room, counting his steps from the doorway to the far wall.

Eyes widening, he realized that, even when he accounted for error, there were at least two and a half yards missing from Sabo's room. No wonder the space felt slightly cramped, even given that Sabo's apartment was luxuriously spacious.

(Ace had found himself wondering many times how rich Sabo could possibly be. He didn't want to say anything, but the man's wealth brought up something dark and resentful within Ace no matter how many times Sabo proved he was way above a decent human being.)

Now that he had a mystery within his grasp, Ace abandoned any trace of guilt over trespassing and meticulously examined Sabo's room. He checked behind the bookcases, shelves, and bed. He looked within the closets, through the dresser, and under the lamp. He found nothing, but then he looked at the full-length mirror decorating one wall. While Sabo certainly wore elaborate enough outfits to justify such a mirror, Ace didn't think the gaudy frame really fit his style.

Grinning, Ace strode over to the mirror, feeling around it until his fingers brushed against a latch. Turning it, Ace pulled the mirror away from the wall. It swung on silent hinges and Ace raised an eyebrow at the small passage it had hidden behind it. Ace flipped a switch and a light flickered on from above, suspended between the interior of the walls. The space was narrow, to the point that Ace could barely squeeze his shoulders though, and therefore he settled on turning slightly to fit. It was a short walk to the turn, and when Ace got there, the space widened considerably, and he knew that he was between the kitchen and Sabo's room.

He couldn't stop himself from whistling at the sight that met his eyes.

Before him stood an impressive arrangement of weapons, varying from combat knives to swords to guns to pipes, each one gleaming and clearly kept in perfect condition. Even in the dim light Ace could see the pipes shining, and after giving the blades and guns a cursory glance he walked over to the pipes, curiosity forcing him over to the weapons that didn't really seem to fit with the rest.

On the way he noticed a section set farther back than the rest, boarded over with thin plywood. No doubt that had been the section Ace had seen in the kitchen.

He lifted a hand, fingers hovering an inch from the nearest pipe. It was practically a staff, nearly as tall as Ace was and polished to perfection.

Ace dropped his hand and perused the rest of the pipes, eyes skipping over the ones that didn't seem quite right, until he got to a point where a pipe made him actually want to step back. Frowning, the young man lightly tapped the pipe and immediately recoiled, nearly stumbling as his whole body seemed to collapse in on itself for a moment.

"What the hell?" He gasped as his strength slowly returned. Still, the shock had snapped him out of his curiosity and he looked around, seeing clearly for the first time that his roommate had an entire arsenal hidden in his apartment. Ace wasn't sure what to make of the situation - Sabo seemed nice, and he'd saved Ace's life - but the black-haired man didn't find the weapons surrounding him to be comforting.

He swallowed. He shouldn't have investigated that part in the kitchen; this was Sabo's space, and Ace probably would've been better off without knowing about it. Plus, Sabo had taken Ace in, and Ace was repaying that service by snooping around Sabo's apartment.

Ace looked around one last time at the room, committing as much of it to memory as he could before he took his leave, carefully checking that everything was as it had been. He flicked off the light and stepped back into Sabo's room, sliding the mirror back where it belonged and hearing the latch softly click into place. He then returned to the kitchen, feeling significantly more fidgety than he had to begin with.

* * *

When Sabo walked through the front door five hours later, he raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" He asked, seeing Ace stretching. The black-haired man had moved some of the furniture to leave a clear space, and there was even a mat laid out on the floor. "And where'd you get the mat?"

"Found it in a closet," Ace grunted, switching positions, almost flowing from one to the next, though his limbs were visibly trembling and sweat lined his brow. "And I'm stretching."

"I can see that much," Sabo said as he put his hat on its usual resting place: the counter. If he didn't put it there, he ran the chance of forgetting it when he inevitably ran out of time and rushed out the door in the morning. He took an experimental sniff and hummed in appreciation. "But be careful. You should know better than to push yourself too hard. Did you make dinner?"

"Yup." The smell had filled the apartment.

"So," Sabo began, eyeing Ace critically. "What…"

Ace sighed, dropping out of the last stance and assuming a relaxed pose against the wall. He wasn't wearing a shirt - Sabo made a mental note to lend the guy one or two of his until they found out where he came from or until they went shopping - and his skin was gleaming with sweat.

"I honestly don't know for sure. I was getting really...fidgety? Something like that. Anyway, earlier I was getting all twitchy, so I decided to just do some simple stretching, but when I got on the mat…" He shrugged. "My body kind of moved on its own." He absently rubbed his tattoo. "I feel like I've gone through that routine before."

"You certainly look like it," Sabo commented offhandedly while taking off his jacket and gloves. "Your wounds bothering you?"

"Not too bad. I can definitely feel them, though."

"Hm...okay. We'll change your bandages soon. Go shower; have you eaten yet?"

Ace nodded. "Enough to tide me over until I'm sure you're done with your portion."

Sabo grunted in acknowledgement and went over to the kitchen, mouth watering at the smell of food. Meanwhile, Ace went to shower, just barely making it over the threshold of the bathroom before he collapsed.

* * *

"Narcolepsy?" Ace repeated, rubbing his head and giving Sabo a questioning look. "Seriously?"

"I believe so. This isn't the first time it's happened," Sabo reminded Ace.

"Yeah, but it's the first time it's happened while I'm walking."

"But you've face planted into your food before, so I'm going with a really, really severe case of narcolepsy. Either that or your stretching took a lot more out of you than you thought. Or both."

Ace sighed, poking at his dinner. He'd woken up to Sabo's somewhat panicked shaking, and after getting the fact that he wasn't about to die cleared up, Ace had finished his shower. Now the two were sitting at Sabo's relatively small dinner table.

"I don't suppose you know anyone prominent that has narcolepsy," he tried, his expression falling when Sabo shook his head no. "Damn."

Sabo, seeing that Ace was bouncing his leg, decided to take the initiative an distract Ace from his narcolepsy problem. "Listen, I figure we can head out tomorrow to get you some clothes. I need to get more food anyway, and while we're out you can try to see if you remember anything else. Who knows? Maybe we'll run into someone you knew. And the fresh air will probably do you some good."

Ace brightened at the idea, and then deflated a second later. "But I don't have a shirt." He paused. "Wait, did I have a shirt when I first arrived here?"

Sabo thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Nope. You, sir, were shirtless."

Surprisingly, Ace didn't seem bothered by that suggestion in the slightest. "Huh."

"Remember anything?"

Ace's mouth twisted. "No, just a feeling...like, it's not weird that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Or something like that." He made a vague hand gesture. "It's hard to describe."

Sabo gave him an odd look. "O-kay. I've got work to do tonight, so I'll be in my room after I make your couch a little more comfortable. Knock if you need anything."

"Roger that," Ace said with a mock salute. Sabo rolled his eyes, but there was a certain kind of budding fondness twisting his lips.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_The chapters get longer later. Probably._

* * *

Chapter 3

"Can I get that one?"

"No."

"That one?"

"No."

"What about -"

"No! Jeez, Ace, despite how my apartment makes it seem I've got a limited paycheck."

The freckled young man had the decency to give Sabo a sheepish smile. He was currently borrowing one of Sabo's plain white t-shirts, and Sabo was irritated to see that Ace's shoulders and biceps were just slightly too big. The blond boy made a mental note to check for body building or combat of any kind in the backgrounds of anyone that fit Ace's description.

"Sorry. Just...I'm not used to shopping?"

Sabo raised one eyebrow, smoothly sidestepping a group of chatting young women and offering one of them a dashing smile that had her blushing and waving with a returning smile. By turning his attention back to Ace, he made the amusement in his expression even clearer.

"Was that a statement or a question?"

Ace shrugged, his focus already back on a storefront. Sabo sighed, wondering whether it had been smart to bring Ace to the nicest shopping street in all of Low Town. Then again, the nearest other city with decent public shopping was hours and hours away, so he hadn't really had much choice. Plus, his usual supplier of fine clothing would probably be a little too sketchy for Ace. Sabo had secrets to keep, and he was willing to sacrifice some of his cash to do so. And he'd be dead and buried before he even considered going to High Town.

Three stores and eighty dollars later, Ace had all the clothing he would need to temporarily stay at Sabo's place. Sabo couldn't help feeling surprised, however, that Ace had gotten jewelry.

"What?" Ace asked defensively, seeing Sabo's strange look. He rubbed the red and white bracelet on his wrist.

"Nothing," Sabo said, putting his hands up. "I'm just surprised; you didn't seem like a jewelry kind of guy."

Ace made a noncommittal noise. "Felt weird," he muttered, "and there was something else, too." But he said the words too quietly for Sabo to hear.

The two were walking back to Sabo's apartment, which was fairly close to where the shops were. Ace had the bag carrying his clothes - he'd snorted when the shopkeepers had tried to give him more bags after the first one and instead crammed his new clothing into a single bag - and Sabo had two as well. He'd indulged and bought a navy blue scarf, remembering the times Koala had lectured him in the winter about his habit of underdressing.

Plus, he knew he looked quite dashing in blue. He'd also stopped at a grocery store to pick up some snacks to tide them over until he could actually go grocery shopping.

Sabo had taken Ace's bag despite the freckled man's protests, pointing out that he was still recovering his muscles and that he would be for at least another two weeks.

Ace, for his part, was enjoying himself. He'd gotten new clothes and the fresh air was rejuvenating after being cooped up in Sabo's (admittedly very nice) apartment for so long. He'd even gotten a new baseball cap and shades, which were a perfect fit on his face. Sure, his legs were sore and aching, and flashes of dull heat crept up his abdomen with every step, but he was on the way to recovery. The sunlight felt good on his face and he almost felt like whistling.

And then his good feeling died.

A man with impressive hair and impeccable makeup brushed past him, the sleeve of his exotic silk shirt just barely touching Ace's arm. Even so, a thrill shot up Ace's spine and the world seemed to slow as his head turned to follow the strange black-haired man. His pace lagged as he tried to keep an eye on the man through the crowds.

"Ace," Sabo said, tugging on his shirt, "let's go. I've still got groceries to put away."

And just like that, the odd feeling passed and time forged ahead. Blinking and shaking his head to clear it, Ace turned and followed Sabo back to his apartment. But no matter how many minutes passed, he couldn't get the strange encounter out of his head.

* * *

Sabo raised an eyebrow at Ace, who was putting the groceries away with a borderline lethargic attitude.

"Something wrong?" The blond inquired while deftly placing three boxes of cereal in the cupboard. Ace made an impartial grunting noise as he kneeled down in front of the open fridge, opening and closing drawers, trying to find a place for the sticks of butter. Sabo watched him for a few seconds and then decided to take pity on the other man.

"Bottom left."

"Thanks." Ace stood and reached for another item only to discover that there were no more remaining.

"Seriously, what's up with you?" Sabo asked, leaning against the counter. Ace glanced at him and then down at the floor.

"Nothing."

"Right, and I'm the King of Vint."

Ace sighed, realizing that Sabo wasn't going to let the matter go. "It's really nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew when we were walking home -"

"When you spaced out and I had to pull you along?"

"Yeah." Ace paused, thinking about his next words. Deep down, he knew he knew that guy, but it wasn't anything concrete. He couldn't say how he'd recognized the black-haired man, or what about him had made Ace's world slow to a crawl, but he was certain he'd known the man at some point, and known him well.

But Sabo didn't need to know that. The blond hadn't seen the man, and Ace couldn't remember his features well enough for a description to really do anything.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. But there was something within him, something he couldn't quite identify, that kept telling Ace not to say anything. He felt slightly guilty about even thinking of hiding information from Sabo, but at the same time -

 _He's got a hidden room full of weapons._

And Ace's minor omission didn't seem so bad in comparison to that.

"But, now that I think about it, I don't think I actually knew him," Ace finished. Sabo's expression, which had grown interested at Ace's confirmation, returned to neutrality.

"That sucks. Still, it's something; your memories aren't gone, just…"

"Lost?" Ace supplied.

"Sure. Lost." Sabo grinned. "You'll find them eventually, I'm sure of it."

* * *

Ace carefully placed the bowl of spaghetti noodles on the counter and shut off the low flame keeping the sauce heated on the stove. A quick stir reassured him that the meatballs hadn't somehow disappeared since he'd last checked on them. The timer on the oven went off and he reached in and pulled out the pan of garlic bread, setting it next to the sauce.

"Sabo!" He called. "Dinner's ready!"

There was no response. Ace waited for a few seconds, wondering whether Sabo was just finishing something else. When the silence continued, Ace undid his apron - Sabo insisted he wear the frilly pink thing for whatever reason, and Ace only did it because the blond laughed his ass off every time, and that brought a smile to Ace's face - and slung it over the back of a chair. Then he walked down the hallway, whistling absently.

He reached Sabo's closed door in short order and raised his hand to knock, only to pause. Why was Sabo's door closed? He never closed his door without telling Ace why beforehand. The blond seemed to worry that, if he closed his door, Ace would collapse and die without him realizing. Frowning now, Ace lowered his hand and put his ear to the door, trying to listen and figure out what Sabo was up to.

It wasn't like him to miss dinner, after all.

Silence greeted his ears and Ace stepped back, rubbing the back of his head while he pondered what to do.

Three seconds later he'd made up his mind and crouched down to inspect the door handle, quickly concluding that the lock wasn't engaged. He then twisted and eased open the door, remembering from his last expedition into Sabo's room that the door was relatively quiet.

The light was on, but Sabo was nowhere to be seen. Feeling uncharacteristically sneaky, Ace crept forward, eyes darting around the room until they landed on the mirror. Despite what it hid, it seemed innocent enough, but as Ace carefully stepped toward it, he began to hear Sabo's voice coming from behind it. The words were faint, indistinguishable, and Ace could barely hear them until he stood right next to the mirror. Sabo was whispering, and Ace had to concentrate in order to separate the words in his head.

He breathed as quietly as he was able and listened.

" - ou, Koala, now's not a good time for a long mission...Yes, I know this is important, but it can wait...Don't bring my position into this! Yes, I know...Look, remember that unknown I mentioned?"

He paused and Ace's heart skipped a beat as the black-haired man wondered whether Sabo had heard him. Logically, he knew that was impossible; he wasn't moving and his breathing wasn't loud enough to gain Sabo's attention, but his heartbeat certainly felt loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the apartment complex.

"...Yes, it's because of that." Ace let out a long, quiet breath of relief. "No, I can't...Really? You found something? Good. His amnesia is seriously strange...No, this isn't like the pot calling the kettle black. Yes, I know...No...No...Yes...Of course not! Fine, fine, I'll call you again. Thanks for covering for me. Yes, I know you're great...No, I won't say that again. Stop trying to blackmail me!"

Ace frowned as he mulled over what he'd just heard.

Who was Koala? One of Sabo's friends? That made sense, since Sabo was talking to her pretty casually and his usual distant-yet-polite-to-Ace attitude was nowhere to be heard. In fact, he sounded almost petulant, using a tone Ace only heard on rare occasions.

But what was that stuff about a mission and Sabo's position? Ace absently rubbed his tattoo while he thought, fingers tracing the crossed-out "s" over and over again. Was Sabo involved in some kind of super secret group? Ace brightened. Maybe his caretaker was some kind of spy!

But no, Sabo wasn't cool enough for that. Ace had been living with him for over a week now and hadn't seen a glimpse of anything spy-like about the man. He even dressed like a noble (albeit with a tougher, more functional style), which was ridiculous considering that he lived in the Low Town section of Goa. Ace simply couldn't picture his blond-haired roommate creeping around in that getup.

Ace chewed on his lip, going over what Sabo had said. _His amnesia is seriously strange._ It certainly was; Ace had gotten that impression immediately upon trying to say his name, and with every passing day his irritation with his own lack of knowledge grew.

 _Remember that unknown I mentioned?_

What was the "unknown"? Ace thought that over for a second or two until he came to the conclusion that, given the rest of what Sabo had said, _he_ was the unknown. That made sense, since Ace's past was a mystery to both of them.

At least he'd avoided being called John.

With a start, Ace realized that Sabo's conversation was coming to an end. He frantically cast his gaze around the room, wondering if he would be able to make it to the door before -

"What are you doing in here?"

 _Shit._

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	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"H-hey, Sabo," Ace said, stepping away from the mirror while his mind scrambled frantically for some kind of excuse. Unfortunately, he kept coming up blank, and Sabo's eyes were drilling into his own and making any possible ideas scatter like dust in the wind.

"Ace," Sabo repeated, "what are you doing in here?"

"I...came to tell you that dinner's ready?"

"It's not very convincing when you say it as a question, you know." Sabo stepped fully into his room, shutting off the light and pushing the mirror back into place. "Were you eavesdropping? Don't lie to me," he added.

Ace, realizing he was beaten, set his jaw. "Yeah, I was eavesdropping. What about it?"

Sabo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No need to get defensive." He began walking out and paused in the doorway, turning back to Ace with a raised eyebrow. "Well? You gonna eat or not? I'm pretty hungry tonight, so -"

"Sabo," Ace said, cutting off the other man. "I want to know." And sure, it probably wasn't his place to pry given that he was staying in Sabo's apartment and could get thrown out on his ass if Sabo wanted to do so, but Ace was curious and very, very determined. What was his roommate mixed up in, and could it endanger him? If so, Ace wanted to be involved as well.

Sabo stared at the stubborn man in his room for almost ten seconds before he relented. "I'll talk to you after dinner, okay?"

Ace hesitated and then nodded. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

The blond man smiled thinly. "It's not exactly something you should thank me for telling you about."

"You haven't even told me yet!" Ace snapped, more to lighten the mood than anything else, but his only response was Sabo's fading laughter. Muttering about annoying, enigmatic strangers, Ace left Sabo's room and went to eat.

* * *

Sabo let out a contented sigh, tipping his head back and slurping up the last of his spaghetti. Ace raised one eyebrow around the veritable mountain of food on his plate; Sabo had eaten quickly, and considering that the blond's plate had held almost as much as Ace's, his speed was impressive.

"You make good noodles," Sabo acknowledged, wiping his face and setting his napkin aside. He then leaned forward, steepling his fingers and resting his elbows on his knees. They were in his sitting room, and Ace inhaled the rest of his food, gulping it down with a quick drink of water before setting the plate aside and focusing on Sabo.

"So, what was that phone call about?" Ace asked. "If you would please tell me, that is."

Sabo's lips quirked into an amused smirk at Ace's belated attempt at manners. "I already agreed to tell you, did I not?" He hesitated a moment, pulling his thoughts together. "To start with, I'm a revolutionary."

Ace blinked. It figured that of all the people in the city that could have rescued him, the one man had to be a revolutionary. Of course, given how the city was separated into a "haves" and "have nots" society, he couldn't fault Sabo for wanting to change things. Still…

"Before you get any ideas," Sabo said, raising one hand, "I need to explain what I mean by that. We're working to improve the lives of everyone in Low Town by systematically sabotaging High Town and keeping tabs on Low Town to make sure that any situations don't excessively deteriorate, hence avoiding any all-out conflicts."

"So, you're sentries," Ace said. "Observers."

Sabo nodded. "Of a sort. We're a little more active than the word 'observers' implies. Our far-off goal is to force the government to equal out the wealth between the Low Town and High Town districts, but it's going to take a long time before we're completely ready to carry out that plan."

"You're trusting me with what seems like pretty important information," Ace hazarded. Sabo grinned.

"Anyone who does even a little prying into our cause - provided they notice it - will find these things out. Perhaps not in so many words, but the story will be the same."

"So, those weapons in your room - those are for...missions?"

"Right. Since I'm a member of the revolutionaries, I'm often called out on missions, which entail what I've already described. Some are more dangerous than others and warrant me carrying extra arms, which is what you saw."

Ace frowned. "You could get hurt on those missions."

"I could, but I won't."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Have a little faith," Sabo said, sitting up and resting his back against the couch cushion. "I'm good at what I do."

He said the words with such confidence that Ace believed him instantly. There was just something about Sabo, some kind of aura, that made Ace trust him and trust in him. Absently, the amnesiac wondered whether he'd just been a very trusting person or if Sabo was just that good.

"If you say so," Ace responded evenly. Sabo sighed, seeing what Ace was getting at.

"I can't take you with me. First of all, I don't know your combat capabilities. Second, I don't know if you're truly trustworthy - your old persona could have been an enemy of the revolutionaries."

"You make it sound like there's a third reason."

"Perceptive. I don't want you, the person who was recently at death's door, getting hurt."

Ace cocked his head. "Me? I'll be fine."

"Refer to the first reason."

"Then test me or something. I know I can handle myself."

Sabo gave Ace a long, considering look. Then he ran a hand through his hair, giving in to the eager expression on Ace's face. "Fine, fine."

"Yes!"

"But, we're just going to spar for a minute. Nothing big, and this won't change my mind about you joining me on missions."

Ace's triumphant expression vanished. "Wait -"

"However," Sabo continued, raising a finger to forestall Ace, "I will feel far more comfortable with you wandering around on your own if you prove that you can take care of yourself if there is a conflict, and that you aren't going to collapse from your injuries."

"Really? I'll be able to leave without your permission?" Ace's tone was dry, almost sarcastic, but lacked any real venom.

Sabo smiled indulgently. "Of course. Now, if you don't think you can handle it, because of your injuries or otherwise, I can always go with you later, hold your hand, help you cross the street -"

"Oh, shut up."

Half an hour later, when they felt that their filled stomachs wouldn't get in the way of a fight, they set up a mat. Sabo surprised Ace by pulling out another mat almost twice the size of the one Ace had used to stretch. Sabo responded to Ace's questioning look by pointing out that he'd sparred with people in his apartment before, and it never hurt to be prepared. Sabo's sitting area got a makeover as the chairs, tables, and other furniture got pushed aside to make room.

"Ready?" Sabo asked, his usual nice attire shed in favor of a simple white shirt and flowing yet tight pants that would give him unrestricted movement but at the same time make it so that his clothes weren't a potential hindrance.

"Ready," Ace affirmed, dropping into a defensive stance. Sabo assumed a stance as well, choosing to go with a simple fighting style that would give him a good idea of Ace abilities and simultaneously hide the enormous strength in his fingers and hands. He didn't want to give away his actual style of fighting in case Ace did turn out to be an enemy.

At Sabo's wordless signal Ace attacked, sweeping forward and aiming a punch at Sabo's solar plexus. Sabo blocked and grabbed onto Ace's wrist, not visibly reacting to the incredible strength behind the blow, and countered with a jab at Ace's jaw. The black-haired man tilted his head to avoid the blow and spun to get his right arm out of Sabo's grasp, simultaneously attempting to sweep Sabo's legs out from under him.

Sabo stepped back, knowing better than to jump, and watched as Ace got his balance again and eyed Sabo.

With just the first few blows, Sabo had determined that Ace knew how to fight. The man wasn't hesitating between motions at all (save for what Sabo expected, given how long he'd been unconscious), and the strength behind his punch had been incredible, as had been Ace's form. He was clearly no amateur still trying to figure out how to avoid breaking his own fingers.

Sabo could have ended the spar right there. He could have, but what would have been the fun in that? After all, he was missing his usual combat missions to take care of the amnesiac, and his body itched for action. With the opportunity right in front of him, how could he go against his own instincts?

So Sabo stepped forward, throwing a feint and then a left hook. Ace didn't fall for the feint and deflected the left hook with an almost casual grace before aiming a kick at Sabo's stomach. The blond quickly sidestepped and went to grab Ace's leg to put the man into a submission hold, but Ace dropped out of reach. Instead of falling as a messy heap on the ground, however, the black-haired man did an impressive maneuver that nearly allowed him to land three separate kicks on Sabo as he spun.

Ace hopped back to his feet when Sabo had to back up, giving him time to orient himself once again. The two then got close again, throwing punches, jabs, and even a few palm strikes to try to get past the other's guard. The entire time they stayed aware of their own abilities, making sure to never cross the line between a spar and an actual fight.

Sabo blocked Ace's latest punch and smoothly stepped around him, aiming an elbow at the fleshier part of Ace's side, knowing better than to put too much force into the blow. Elbows were quite dangerous, after all.

Ace twisted to avoid the hit and tried to grab Sabo's arm, but the blond pulled the limb out of reach and retaliated with a quick series of jabs that had Ace taking a step back. Taking advantage of the man's shift in weight, Sabo pressed forward until Ace's attention was focused solely on his punches.

Then the revolutionary abruptly stopped punching and stepped through Ace's guard, his hand moving so quickly that, to Ace, it seemed to just appear under his chin.

Sabo's eyes sparkled. "I win."

Ace swallowed, stepping away from the hand that could easily have knocked him unconscious had Sabo followed through with the motion. "Yeah, I think you do."

The two grabbed waters and returned to the mat to talk.

"You can clearly handle yourself," Sabo admitted, rubbing a particularly battered and bruised spot on his forearm. He was going to have a tapestry of blues, greens, and yellows over the next few days; apparently, Ace really didn't know his own strength.

Ace pumped his fist. "Yes! Freedom!"

"Sure, something like that. Just be back by...eleven? Yeah, eleven."

"What, you're giving me a curfew?"

"Don't think of it like that. You don't have a phone, right?"

"Er...yeah."

"And, no offense, but I don't want to give you my number. So, we'll compromise. If something terrible happens and you're delayed a little, call my apartment and leave a message. Here's the number."

Sabo scribbled it on a little sheet of paper and handed the note to Ace, who tucked it into his pocket. Sabo had no doubt that the man had already memorized the number; despite his appearance, Ace had an impressively quick mind.

"Sounds good to me," Ace said as he stretched, wincing almost imperceptibly with each motion.

"One more thing," Sabo said. "I've been doing research, and I think I might - _might_ \- have a lead on who you are. Or, at least, where you came from."

Ace perked up immediately. "Really? What is it?"

"I can't be sure yet," Sabo cautioned, "so I can't give you all the details. I do know that you came from Low Town, though, since...you know."

Ace blinked. "Of course I came from Low Town."

Sabo sheepishly rubbed his head. "Right, well. That's about it. I'll let you know the rest once I get it confirmed."

"Okay." Ace didn't sound pleased, but Sabo was grateful for his patience. After all, if what he suspected was true, Ace's actual identity would be making his current situation far more complicated.

But that was a worry for tomorrow. For now, Sabo just wanted to -

 _Thunk_.

\- watch as Ace fell backwards, already snoring away.

"Apparently your current meds aren't really working," he muttered, watching Ace. He sighed, scratching his ear. "What am I going to do with you, Ace? What if you fall asleep in the middle of nowhere? What then?"

Sabo wasn't actually worried. Ace, as he had already demonstrated, could handle himself. Plus, with the curfew - and there was really no other way to put it, though the idea pained Sabo somewhat - Sabo would know whether Ace was in a bind he couldn't get out of or not within the day.

Sabo eyed the snoring man on the mat below him. His eyes slowly become cloudy, his expression unreadable.

He couldn't be sure, but it had seemed from the very start of the spar that Ace had been holding back.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"An errand?" Ace repeated, one of his eyebrows creeping up. "I finally get permission to wander around on my own, and you want me to run an _errand_?"

"Yes," Sabo replied patiently. "Look, clearly, the narcolepsy medication I got for you isn't working. Head over to Dr. Kureha's place and get the prescription updated. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have her look over your injuries. You said you had back pain, or pain in your abdomen?"

Ace waved a hand dismissively while he grabbed the piece of paper Sabo had offered him, which had the doctor's address written on it alongside some other information about the meds Ace had already been on. "It's nothing serious."

"Given that you were dying not too long ago, any untreated, lasting symptoms could lead to something far worse down the road. I shouldn't even have sparred so much with you last night."

Ace stared. "You're a real spoilsport, did you know that?"

"Yes, yes, I'm terrible for making you run a simple errand after saving your life." Sabo grinned as he spoke.

"Point taken. Anyway, who's Doctor Kureha?"

Sabo's smile became a little less sincere. "She's an...interesting woman. Wickedly intelligent, great at what she does. She's not my usual doctor, but that guy's currently being targeted by an unsavory fellow by the name of Doflamingo -"

Ace shook his head mutely, confirming that he didn't know anything about the insane king of a nearby kingdom.

"Damn. Anyway, he's out of town for a bit while he sorts that mess out."

"Okay." Ace glanced at the paper one last time, committing the address to memory, before he stuffed it in his pocket. He was wearing one of his new shirts, a red tank top that fit him nicely. He was, of course, still wearing his black shorts, though Sabo had made him buy two more pairs just to be safe.

"Don't forget your hat," Sabo called, tossing Ace the familiar baseball cap. The black-haired boy caught it easily and pulled it on, swiping his usual pair of sunglasses from the nearby table.

"Like I could ever forget my hat," Ace said dryly. Sabo rolled his eyes.

"Hey, you're the one that insisted you needed something on your head when you went out in public."

Ace huffed but didn't deign to respond.

"Get going, you ungrateful ingrate," Sabo mock-ordered, shoving Ace out the door, which he then slammed in the man's face.

* * *

Ace blinked at the door now inches from his nose and, after debating the merits of yelling at Sabo in such a nice complex, turned and walked away. He glanced at the elevators and then scoffed to himself. To hell with taking the elevators, to hell with taking the stairs; he was on his own! He could do whatever he wanted!

Ace walked to the nearest window and, after checking that no one was looking - and that the cameras were pointed away - he pulled it open, ducking outside and closing it behind him. The morning air nearly shoved him off the small edge his feet rested upon, but Ace compensated and took a deep breath, a wild and pleased smile stretching across his face as he took in the view of the city spread out before him.

Sabo's apartment, while not on the top floor, was still fairly high up, but the windows just couldn't do the city justice.

With that smile still on his face, Ace traversed the ledge as quickly as he could until he came across the old fire escape. With a whoop of excitement, he vaulted off the ledge and began to free fall. His hand latched onto the railing of the escape and Ace held on just long enough to slow his momentum before he let go, ignoring the throbbing in his fingers.

The wind rushed past him as he fell and repeated the process several more times until he was falling towards the last landing. In mid air he twisted and grabbed the bottom of the penultimate platform, feeling the metal nearly cut into his fingers as he swung onto the last platform. His feet landed with a metallic clang and the entire structure shook a little as if to warn Ace against doing that in the future.

Uncaring, Ace walked over to the ladder and slid down it, falling when it fully extended and dropped him the last few yards onto the ground.

With solid ground under his feet, Ace staggered, his whole body yelling at him not to do that again. His shoulders burned, his abdomen was on fire, and his hands felt as though their fingers had been cut off.

He was definitely going to do that again.

Ace left the alley at a casual walk after brushing his hair out of his face, whistling, and putting his hands in his pockets.

He went sightseeing before he went to the address Sabo had given to him, more out of hunger than actual curiosity, though the sense of adventure was also a driving factor in each intentionally wrong turn he took. By the time he made it to the old, victorian-styled apartment complex Dr. Kureha supposedly worked in, Ace had eaten three hotdogs, one hamburger, a bag of popcorn, four apples, and a taco.

Luckily, he'd nicked some cash from Sabo's wallet, so the street vendors weren't after him again.

He slowly came to a stop.

 _Again?_

But as soon as the feeling of mild relief had appeared, it vanished, taking whatever memories it was connected to with it. Groaning in frustration, Ace checked the address and jogged the rest of the way to the apartment.

In the end, it took him more acrobatics to get to the right room, since every time he tried to go through the front, the burly, almost bull-like receptionist told him there was no "Dr. Kureha" in the building. Ace, however, had seen the knowing look in the man's eyes, and had surmised that Dr. Kureha was definitely there.

Hence why he had investigated the fire escape - he was really using these too much - and then travelled up to the third floor, where he had seen movement in the window. He gently tapped the glass, leaning forward and trying to peer through the harsh reflection caused by the bright sunlight.

"GAH!" Ace started as a face abruptly appeared behind the window, and as he struggled not to fall back on his ass the window opened, revealing an aging, harsh-looking woman with gray hair and eyes so intense they practically bored holes through Ace's head.

Ace recovered and offered the woman a polite smile. "Hello, I'm Ace. Sabo se-"

"Yes, I figured that boy sent you to me," the woman - Dr. Kureha, Ace figured - interrupted. "All because Law is gone...well, what are you doing out there? Get in!"

Ace ducked through the open window and dropped to the floor of the room, for some reason not surprised that it looked as though the entire apartment was set up as a doctor's clinic with the entrance being the window.

The black-haired man decided that Dr. Kureha probably wasn't an entirely legal practitioner of medicine. Then again, if Sabo trusted her, Ace trusted her. More or less.

"Stand over there," Dr. Kureha said brusquely, pointing to a spot marked with tape. "Did Sabo give you anything? Information about your narcolepsy medication, perhaps?"

Ace handed her the paper and watched with wary eyes as the woman walked swiftly into a back room. She _really_ wasn't dressed for her age. He could hear suspicious noises emanating from that room, but she'd told him to stay put, so he did, even though his instincts were telling him to run.

While steeling himself for the examination that was sure to come, Ace let his gaze wander the room, noting the shelves full of medical texts - and one with adventure stories - as well as several jars full of unidentifiable substances. When Ace thought he saw something move in them, he quickly looked away, and his eyes fell on a small boy he hadn't noticed before.

The kid - he couldn't have been older than ten - barley came up to Ace's waist, and that was including the giant pink hat perched atop his head. He wore an old brown sweatshirt and light pink shorts, but with the hat and hood in the way, Ace couldn't get a good look at his face.

Sabo hadn't said anything about Dr. Kureha having a kid. She didn't seem like the type, anyway. He was probably an assistant of some kind.

Then again, with the city as dangerous as it was, he could have been…

"Oh, him? That's Tony T. Chopper, my assistant."

"He's so young," Ace said softly. "And his eyes..."

He didn't notice Dr. Kureha's appreciative look, and it was gone by the time Ace turned his attention back to her. "So you noticed. He was hurt as a young child; his family abandoned him, and the man that took him in died saving him in a gang raid. He's been terrified of people ever since."

Ace looked at the boy just barely visible in the doorway. His wide, brown eyes were fixed almost fearfully on Ace, but there was something more to that expression, something that wasn't instinctual fear but -

"And here you are," Dr. Kureha said, slamming a pill bottle down on the table hard enough to make Ace jump. "Now get your sorry ass out of here. I don't coddle my patients."

"Thank you very much," Ace said, making the words as sincere as possible. Dr. Kureha just snorted and gestured for him to leave, which Ace did. He was aware of Chopper's gaze on his back until he turned a corner and left the old apartment behind.

It wasn't until he was on the street that he remembered his own injuries.

"Too late now," Ace muttered. He felt mostly fine, anyway.

* * *

Since he still had hours until Sabo got back from whatever job he'd been assigned that day, Ace figured he may as well do more exploring. He visited a park, a playground, and several different shops, though after searching each one thoroughly, he always came out frustrated. He didn't know what he was looking for, just that he was looking for something.

"C'mon, subconscious," Ace muttered in irritation as he strode down the sidewalk, people not so much parting before his muscular frame as sensing him coming and flowing around him, "just tell me already."

His subconscious offered no reply, and Ace tsked before glancing around, only then realizing that he was in an entirely new area. The realization cheered him up somewhat, and his pace picked up.

Someone bumped into him. Ace's hand snapped out and latched onto their wrist before they could get away.

"Give it back," Ace said, his body and mouth moving on instinct. The pickpocket tsked in frustration at being caught but handed back Sabo's money. Ace let the man go after a stern warning to not do that again.

Two blocks later his stomach rumbled, prompting Ace to search for more food vendors. Fortunately, he was saved from doing excessive searching when he spotted a large market; surely, they would have food in there.

The building was massive, more like the size of a warehouse than anything else, and sunlight streamed through several skylights in the ceiling. More lights in the ceiling illuminated whatever spaces were left, and the entire place had a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Ace joined the general crowd walking throughout the market, staying on the lookout for any food stalls. Realizing that his sunglasses were just getting in the way, Ace perched them on the brim of his baseball cap and continued to look around.

Many delicious scents drifted through the air and Ace let his nose guide him, salivating slightly at all the different foods he could smell. Unfortunately, the people in front of him only moved so quickly, and Ace wasn't so rude as to even consider pushing them out of his way.

Several times people bumped into him and Ace forced down a scowl as dull pain temporarily flared up in his back and head. The spar with Sabo the other day had aggravated the old injuries, though Ace certainly hadn't let Sabo know that much. He was supposed to be able to take care of himself, after all, and the prospect of staying in that apartment for an entire day without being able to leave didn't appeal to Ace in the slightest. Knowing Sabo, he would've made Ace go to Dr. Kureha's place again - maybe even stay there - and the mere thought made Ace shudder.

He liked having his freedom, thank you very much.

After almost ten minutes of just walking around and exploring all the different shops, Ace abruptly stopped at one that sold brightly colored hats. He reached out, fingers brushing against the obnoxiously bright fabric before he drew back, confusion drowning out whatever urge had prompted him to stop in the first place. Ignoring the almost hungry gaze of the man running the stall, Ace stepped back into traffic, letting the crowd carry him until he spotted a fruit stand.

It seemed fairly busy, but the orange-haired young woman running it was all business. She worked the register like a pro, making sales so efficiently that Ace was at the front of the line in no time flat.

"What'll it be?" She asked, brown eyes barely glancing at Ace, just taking in that he was a paying customer and little else.

"Uh - six tangerines, please," Ace said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the appropriate amount of money. Something told him that trying to avoid paying this woman would be a serious mistake.

A bag of the proper number of fruits appeared in front of Ace seconds later, and the woman took his money with barely a word. "Thank you for your patronage. Next!"

Ace was walking out of the market before he'd fully comprehended that he was no longer at the cash register. With a slight smile, he cracked his neck.

"Damn, she's good at her job."

He found it somewhat funny that her hair matched the fruit she sold, but he didn't think much of the seller beyond that. After all, he had tangerines to eat. He reached into the bag to pull one out, but paused when some kind of sixth sense warned him that he was being watched. Forcing himself to stay calm and relaxed, Ace casually glanced around, his eyes barely catching a man with blond hair and a purple shirt staring at him before the flow of people hid him from sight.

Ace let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and quickly made his exit, the man's piercing eyes still seeming to follow him even as he went back to Sabo's apartment. He kept glancing over his shoulder every few steps and didn't feel truly alone until Sabo's door closed behind him.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Ace woke up the next morning, he did so with phantom images still playing in front of his eyes. He squinted, trying to focus on the blurry faces, but they quickly faded as he became fully conscious. The teen spent a few minutes just staring blankly at the ceiling, not really thinking anything, until a glance at the clock on the far wall convinced him to actually get up.

With a muffled groan, Ace rolled over, only realizing his mistake when he fell off the couch and hit the floor flat on his back. He muttered a few choice words and then got to his feet, swaying slightly as the blood rushed to his head and sent his vision swimming.

When it cleared he walked over to the small basket of his belongings and rummaged through the clothes, eventually pulling out a red t-shirt and another pair of black shorts. He then dug around for another minute until he found the blue pouch that he could attach to his shorts. It took him less than ten seconds to thread the straps through the loops on the thigh of the shorts and then shook out the piece of clothing with a pleased grin.

Two minutes later he was in the shower, sending Sabo a mental apology as he stole the other man's shampoo and body wash to clean off. He didn't bother with the hot water and was oddly pleased to find that the mirror hadn't fogged up in the time it had taken him to clean off.

Hygiene taken care of, Ace made his way to the kitchen as he toweled off his hair. He checked through the cabinets with one hand and slung the towel over his shoulder with the other. Seeing that Sabo hadn't made himself breakfast - or Ace, for that matter, not that Ace had been expecting him to - Ace began looking through his options.

Ace settled on a bowl of cereal with fruit on top, some toast that probably would've been better if it had been eaten a day prior, and a glass of juice. As he carried his breakfast to the table he realized that there was a note on the counter, and he grabbed that too.

"'Gonna be home later than usual, try not to get into too much trouble'," Ace read around a mouthful of fruit. "O-kay. Not like there's much I can do to get into trouble."

The unwelcome memory of the man in the market surfaced and Ace pushed it aside with a brief frown. Why couldn't he get that man's face out of his head?

When he finished, Ace washed his dishes, putting them into their proper racks in the dishwasher before grabbing a few granola bars and putting them into the pouch attached to his shorts.

Like hell he was staying indoors; from what he could see out the windows, it was a beautiful day. There was no way he was going to watch other people enjoy it from behind some stupid window.

Ace spent a minute debating where he should go and then decided he would go with the flow and make it up as he went. He took one last swig of juice and then headed out, making sure to shut off the lights and lock the door behind him.

He'd already eaten one of his granola bars by the time he made it to the sidewalk, and after throwing away the wrapper he began to walk, letting the crowds carry him. They swept him along, across streets and past shops, down shallow slopes and through a couple plazas.

Slowly the crowds began to thin, until Ace found himself largely alone at the entrance to the park he'd briefly explored the last time he'd been out and about. Figuring that he might as well see what the place had to offer - and it was probably better than wandering about aimlessly again, anyway - Ace walked through the open wrought iron gates.

The green grass and trees were far more pleasing to the eye than the buildings just outside the park, and Ace took a deep breath, enjoying the semi-fresh air.

He walked around for a few minutes to just take in the sights and to figure out the layout of the park, but he rapidly realized that the park was far bigger than he'd first thought. Still, he had the general gist of how it was organized.

Ignoring the couple on a nearby bench that seemed far more interested in each other than the world around them, Ace strolled towards the large open field in the center of the park. His eyes were immediately drawn to a flash of red, and he couldn't help raising one eyebrow when he realized that the vibrant crimson hair belonged to one of the men playing soccer.

Settling down on a convenient bench, Ace enjoyed the shade of a nearby tree as he watched the game. Most of the players didn't seem to be playing soccer; there was far more physical tackling than dribbling, and from the curses he could hear being hurled through the air, Ace judged that it wasn't exactly a friendly match.

The guy with red hair was the loudest of all, and seemingly the strongest. It wasn't long before the warmth began to get to Ace, and if he adjusted his back just so, his position was actually very comfortable...

"Hey, wake up."

Ace cracked one eye open, mentally wondering when he'd fallen asleep until he realized who was standing over him: the redhead.

"You need something?" Ace asked. He'd been enjoying that nap, even if he couldn't remember starting it. Plus, his dreams had been pretty cool, full of light and fire. He wanted to go back there if only to experience that rush again. Then again, trying to have the same dream twice in a row was just dumb.

"Yeah. One of our guys just broke his leg and can't play. We need another."

"And I've been drafted?"

"Yeah."

Ace sighed, opening his other eye and slowly getting to his feet. Standing, he realized that he was shorter than the other guy by at least five inches. Pushing down the irritation that stemmed from actually being shorter than someone other than Sabo, Ace assumed a relaxed slouch.

"What, so you make a habit of pulling in strangers to your games? What're you gonna do if I say no?"

The redhead just smirked. "You're gonna play."

"And if I don't?" Ace challenged. "Besides, there are other people here, right? Like them." He pointed to the small playground on the opposite end of the open field, where a small group of people were assembled, staring at a boy that appeared to be doing some form of acrobatics on the jungle gym and bars.

The man glanced in the direction and then back to Ace, something unidentifiable flickering in his eyes before it vanished. "We don't play with dumbasses like that."

"Dumbasses?"

"Tsk." The man looked annoyed that Ace was asking him a question. "Idiot comes here almost every day and screws around. Nearly cracks his head open every time. So, dumbass."

Ace was instantly suspicious. There was something more to those words, something he was tempted to call respect, but he didn't have the time to pick it apart right then.

"Ah. And there's really no one else?" Ace knew he was going to play. After all, he'd watched them for long enough, and he was bored. He was just enjoying being stubborn, since Sabo usually managed to manipulate him into capitulating within the first few sentences.

"They all left when our game stopped," the man snarled, taking a step closer to Ace and emphasizing their differences in height. "So? You playin' or -"

"Kid, let it go." The new arrival, a blond man wearing a hockey mask of all things (though it looked strange to Ace), put a hand on the newly-named Kid's shoulder. "We don't need you to bring the cops here again. It's getting tiresome."

"I'll do whatever I damn well please," Kid growled, but Ace could see in his posture that he was listening to the blond-haired man.

"Relax, I'll play," Ace finally said. "I don't have anything better to do, really."

Kid looked ready to punch him from sheer irritation. "Why didn't you just say that? Fuckin' fine, you're on Killer's team."

The blond-haired man waved almost sarcastically, and Ace walked up to him, holding out a hand. "He seems nice," the amnesiac commented easily. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ace. Is your name really Killer?"

Killer nodded, shaking Ace's hand. "To you, yes. Thank you for agreeing to play; it would have gotten messy otherwise."

Ace glanced over to where Kid was stalking over to his team, hands waving. "Yeah, I got that impression."

He then realized that Kid's left arm was gleaming and mentally kicked himself. The guy has a prosthetic arm! Ace was instantly curious, but checked his curiosity. It wouldn't be polite to ask about that, especially given how short-tempered the redhead seemed to be. As strong as he knew he was, Ace didn't enjoy the prospect of fighting two soccer teams' worth of guys at once.

In the end, Ace got put in the midfield. After taking a brief second to explain the rules - which sounded different than the ones that Ace had already known - Killer went to forward, facing off against Kid. Ace glanced around, quickly memorizing who was on his team and who wasn't; there weren't really jerseys, and Ace had a feeling that not knowing that information would lead to some painful consequences in the near future.

"GO!" Kid shouted, and the game began.

It started out simply enough; Ace got into position and fielded the ball as best he could. Sometimes he felt as though he knew what he was doing, and sometimes he felt utterly lost. Luckily, his teammates - and his opponents - seemed to be experiencing the same thing.

The first time someone tried to tackle him, Ace ducked out of the way and passed to Killer, who nearly scored only to get blocked by last-second interference from Wire.

The second time, a man managed to clip Ace and send them both crashing to the ground while a cheer erupted from his opponent's teammates. Ace felt the breath get driven from his lungs but hopped back to his feet as soon as he was able, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to catch the man who had taken the ball.

As the game wore on, Ace began to understand the unsaid rules about tackling: no doing it from behind, no going for the head, no tackling someone without the ball, and no more than one person can tackle another at a time.

The substitute continued to dodge and weave around tackles when he was able, and he usually managed to stay on his feet otherwise. His injuries occasionally flared up, but the pain was dulled by time. He was mostly healed, and that made him happy.

There were also several moves besides tackling that Ace was pretty sure weren't legal. He spotted tripping, grabbing, hair-pulling, and even spin moves that made him dizzy just looking at them.

How were these people not all in the hospital yet?

When one of the players whom Ace didn't know the name of scored the fifth goal for Killer's team, Kid called halftime. Everyone trickled over to a pile of water bottles haphazardly stacked by the side of the center line. Ace caught one tossed to him by Killer and took a deep drink, which almost immediately made him feel better.

The break was short; Ace could tell that these people had done this many times before because they were incredibly efficient, cleaning up after themselves - mostly - with great speed and returning to the field in short order.

Ace took one last drink, tossed the now-empty water bottle into a nearby recycling bin, and jogged back onto the field.

The game began again, and seemed to be even more intense than it had been in the first half.

"Stay focused!" Kid yelled right as he rammed into Ace with enough force the send the black-haired boy flying. Ace saw sky then ground then sky again, and as his vision stopped swimming and his lungs began to work once more he sat up, seeing Kid doing the same a few feet away.

"Nice tackle," Ace acknowledged. Kid shot him a savage grin as he rolled out his shoulder. Ace glanced at his arm, taking a second to appreciate the kickass design, and then returned his gaze to Kid's face.

"Good to see you haven't run away yet."

Ace snorted. "Yeah, like I'd do that. Your team is still losing, you know."

"Shut up."

Just like that the brief lull in the action ended and the game picked up again. Ace managed to get a shot off from just outside the box and the ball slammed against the crossbar, going straight down before getting tapped in by Killer.

"That's ten!" Killer declared. "You lose, Kid!"

"Bullshit!" Kid called back, but he was stretching and his team was making no move to return the ball to the middle. Ace absently rubbed his tattoo, both out of habit and because he'd landed oddly on his arm after one tackle and the pain was still subsiding.

"Nice game, kid," one of Ace's teammates said, clapping Ace on the back and making him stagger a step.

And suddenly he wasn't at the soccer field anymore.

 _"Nice try, Luffy! Maybe next time you'll get him."_

 _A much younger Ace snorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down the two boys in front of him. "Yeah right. You're dreaming, Sabo. Luffy'll never catch up to me."_

 _"Yeah I will! In three years I'll be as old as you are!"_

 _"In three years I'll be three years older too, you idiot! Think before you talk!"_

 _Sabo laughed and patted Ace on the back as he walked past him. "C'mon, Ace, loosen up! You know Luffy's doing his best."_

 _Ace rolled his eyes but, when Luffy walked past him, the older boy hesitantly said, "Good try."_

 _The smile Luffy gave him was blinding._

Ace slowly opened his eyes, the names and details already fading from his mind as he returned to the present. He promptly realized that he'd collapsed onto the ground and that Kid and Killer were crouched over him, talking in low tones.

"I'm tellin' you, I didn't do this!"

"Why else would he randomly die like that?" Killer hissed, and Ace guessed that he was giving Kid a look from behind his mask. "Seriously, know your own strength!"

"I do know my own strength, dumbass! I didn't kill him!"

"I'm not dead," Ace muttered.

"See?" Kid said. "He's not dead." Ace waited. "Hey!" Something hard hit him in the side and he grunted. "Why the hell're you layin' around, then? Get the hell up before someone calls the damn cops on me again!"

 _Again?_

"Why did you collapse?" Killer asked as Ace sat up and brushed the grass from his hair and clothes.

"Narcolepsy."

"Pretty extreme case," Killer commented. Ace sighed.

"Yeah."

"Don't just fall down like that," Kid growled, standing up and crossing his arms. "I'm already being watched."

As the redhead walked away, Killer leaned towards Ace and whispered, "He was a little worried."

"Really?" Ace asked, raising one eyebrow. "I couldn't tell."

Killer shrugged. "If you'd died, we wouldn't have anyone to play with next week."

Ace accepted the invitation for what it was and grinned. "That would be a shame, wouldn't it?"

He got the feeling that Killer was smiling, and then the blond walked away. Ace watched as the entire soccer team - teams? - left the park, taking the ball with them.

Then he sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets and going back the way he'd come. The game had taken care of almost two hours of his time, and it was about time he returned to the apartment. He had to clean up the sitting area, anyway; the couch was probably a mess, too, since he'd just been throwing his dirty clothes on one end of it. Which reminded him, he had to do laundry.

He glanced up to see a man staring at him. "What?"

The man shook his head, a strange, almost impressed expression on his face. "You're real lucky, kid."

Ace resented the "kid" comment - he wasn't a child anymore, thank you very much - but the man's comment intrigued him. "Why?"

"That was Eustass Kid."

"So?"

"You don't know who he is?" The man's expression was now full of disbelief. "You're a crazy one, all right." His voice lowered, like he was imparting some great secret. "He's one of the most wanted gang leaders in the city, infamous for his cruelty."

Ace shrugged, pocketing the information but not really finding the significance in it. Deep down, he'd had the impression that he was stronger than Kid; he couldn't explain how he knew that, but he did. "Well, that explains a lot."

And he kept walking.

* * *

Ace couldn't quite remember how to get back to Sabo's place, so he ended up wandering around a lot more than he had originally intended. Luckily, there was still plenty of daylight, so he didn't worry about somehow breaking the curfew that Sabo had set.

The street he was on wasn't particularly busy; there were still plenty of people, but it wasn't stifling. Plus, the buildings provided ample shade so Ace didn't have to squint.

"You dumbass! You can't eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"

"But Saaaaaanji, I'm huuuungry. I only got a little money at the park!"

"That's because you were encouraging the kids there to copy you, and you know they can't do that!"

"I was teaching the simple stuff."

"Your version of 'simple' is their version of 'dangerous'."

Ace raised an eyebrow at the arguing pair standing in front of a restaurant he didn't recognize. He glanced at the flowing script above the main entrance and saw that it read "Baratie". Sounded fancy, but it didn't seem to be in the right neighborhood. Then again, the closer he got, the more he could see in the windows; the place was crowded. Apparently it was pretty popular. Maybe the neighborhood didn't matter.

Bellowing from within the establishment had the blond man - who had been berating the black-haired boy - shouting back that he'd be there in a second.

Ace shook his head, decided that the entire matter wasn't his business, and strode past them with his hands in his pockets, muttering, "Excuse me -"

Only to feel his heart skip a beat in his chest as he passed the scrawny kid. The sudden feeling of overwhelming familiarity had Ace unable to move for a second. When he recovered he spun around so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash, but by that time the blond man had already dragged his associate into the restaurant.

 _"Promise me you'll never die, Ace!"_

 _"I promise!"_

"Lu -" Ace began, taking a step forward, but just as soon as the sense of familiarity had appeared it vanished, leaving him feeling like a man lost at sea in front of the restaurant. Feeling a distinct sense of frustration and bitterness, Ace turned around and continued walking, but he kept the image of that kid's face in his memory.

Where the hell had he seen that boy before?

And what had he been about to say?

* * *

"I know him, Sabo! I know I do!"

"You've made that pretty clear, Ace," Sabo said indulgently. "But I can't really help you without a description or a name."

"Luffy," Ace said, sounding certain. The name had come to him mere minutes ago after hours of writing down possibilities and getting frustrated. "His name is Luffy, he's got black hair - kinda messy - and this stitched-up scar under his left eye."

Sabo mulled the description over for a few seconds before he sighed. "No one comes to mind off the top of my head, but I can get some of my people on it if you really think he's got some kind of connection to your past."

"He does," Ace growled. "I know he does. I just wish I knew what the hell it was."

"Same here," Sabo said with a small grin. "Anyway, you mentioned that there was another thing…?"

"Right," Ace said with a snap of his fingers. He tilted his chair back, popping the last bit of his meal into his mouth, chewing, and swallowing. "I went to the park earlier and met this Eustass Kid guy -"

Sabo choked out something that sounded suspiciously like, "What the fuck".

" - And we played some soccer. I got hit a few times - don't give me that look, my injuries are fine - but after I remembered something."

Sabo's mother-hen expression morphed into interest. "What was it?"

Ace made a vague gesture. "Don't get too excited. I forgot most of it almost immediately. There were three of us - me, and two other kids. All guys, but I can't remember their faces. We seemed to be close."

"Friends?" Sabo guessed. Ace shrugged.

"Dunno."

"Did you hear any names?"

"I think so. Can't remember them, though."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

The two remained silent for a minute, simply pondering the new information, before Sabo clapped his hands together. "Right then. You up for dessert?"

Ace grinned, the front legs of his chair crashing back onto the floor. "Hell yeah I am."

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ace woke up late the next day. He hadn't intended to sleep in, not really, but the moment he'd opened his eyes the first time, he'd decided that he would much rather be unconscious than awake, hence why he hadn't really gotten out of bed until around noon.

Sabo was long gone - of course - and Ace contented himself with a few pieces of toast, a couple bowls of cereal, and two bananas just barely on the verge of being inedible.

They needed to go grocery shopping. He'd ask Sabo about that later. For now, with his stomach full, Ace decided that he was going to figure out exactly what the hell was going on with his memory. Plan set, the amnesiac walked into Sabo's room and casually searched through a few drawers before pulling out a blank notebook. Sabo had mentioned his enjoyment of writing over one meal, and Ace had suspected that the man kept spare notebooks around somewhere. Hopefully, he either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care that Ace was taking one.

Snagging a pencil off the counter in the kitchen, Ace went into the sitting area and plopped down haphazardly on one of the armchairs, sprawling over it in such a way that it was a miracle he didn't fall off.

After staring at the blank page for a few minutes, Ace began tapping his pencil in annoyance.

"C'mon, what was the first thing?" He muttered.

Then it clicked, and Ace quickly wrote, _"Name: Ace"_ on the page. He bit his lip and then added, _"Age: 18-22?"_

He didn't bother with a physical description; he knew what he looked like, and doubted that it would really affect him if he lost his memory again.

"Next one, next one," the young man said under his breath, casting his gaze to the ceiling. "Ah! That guy!" A few seconds later, Ace had, _"Weird thing with the guy on the sidewalk - recognition?"_ written on the page. He nodded to himself and then wrote, _"Can fight; hold own against Sabo?"_

He tapped the pencil again and then began absently twirling it around his fingers, only stopping when it fell to the floor and he had to pick it up.

The next time, he hardly had to think about what to write.

"Luffy," he said, scrawling the name on the page. He circled it several times and then underlined it for good measure. Next to that he put, _"guy with weird eyebrows?"_ and _"Baratie?",_ largely because he got the feeling that he should know those two things as well. Plus, they were clearly related to Luffy. After a second's hesitation he put a brief description of the kid, figuring that it wouldn't hurt.

Then Ace recalled the incident after the game with Kid and wrote, _"three boys; two + me, friends?"_ The pencil hovered less than an inch above the page. He slowly put it back to the paper.

 _"Brothers?"_

Ace wasted another ten minutes just trying to remember something else, but there was nothing there, not even some kind of wall. At least then he would know that there was something; without that wall he felt like a man stumbling around in the dark, fumbling for lost memories he couldn't possibly see in front of him.

Once he came to the conclusion that picking his own brain wasn't going to yield any more results, Ace set the notebook and pencil down on his couch and sleeping area, smoothly covering it with the bedsheet.

Then he looked at the accumulated laundry and sighed.

* * *

Two hours and three loads of laundry later, Ace had put his clothes and Sabo's in their proper places and tidied up the apartment as best he could. He left Sabo's room untouched, since the man - for all that he appeared proper and organized - had a system that Ace couldn't even hope to understand.

Snagging the last apple, Ace bit into it while musing about what he could do. He didn't feel like going out, but there wasn't really a lot to do in the apartment. He swallowed and took another bite, brows furrowed.

And then it came to him. Sabo had given Ace permission to check out his stash of weapons, and Ace hadn't taken advantage of it yet. Now was the perfect time to look into it.

After finishing the apple, core and all, Ace walked briskly over to Sabo's room and quickly shifted the mirror out of the way, flicking on the light as he stepped into the narrow passageway. Turning sideways, Ace shuffled his way down the short stretch until he emerged into the armory area. The array of weapons was still as impressive - and intimidating - as it had been the first time, and Ace absently wondered how long Sabo had spent amassing all the guns, pipes, knives, grenades...The list went on and on.

Of course, given that Ace now had permission, the place didn't feel quite as ominous as it first had. Before, it had been a secret, a kind of, "my roommate and savior might be a serial killer" thing, but now it was just, "my roommate and savior probably isn't a serial killer but could be if he wanted to".

Ace glanced around and then scowled. His eyebrow twitched with irritation, and he quickly stalked around the room, ripping down the paper signs that Sabo had put up over each of the sections of weapons.

They were all incredibly demeaning; the grenades had a giant explosion and a simplistic stick figure with X-ed out eyes and the words "Danger: Can blow you apart" written in large red letters underneath the picture. The stick figure even had an obnoxiously large label - _this is you_ \- slapped over it. The guns had a similar picture, and the swords had a stick figure being decapitated. The knives weren't much different.

"Friggin' annoying piece of…"

Ace dumped the pages on the floor and then stomped on them a few times for good measure, feeling oddly pleased when his boots left ugly marks, tore, and twisted the paper.

Irritation out of the way, Ace pushed the signs from his mind and focused on the veritable treasure trove of deadly toys in front of him.

Ace immediately wanted to examine the pipes again - especially that one that had made him feel so weak for no reason - but he held himself back and went to the guns first. After checking that the first pistol he grabbed had the safety on, he carefully checked it over, noting its model and caliber. It seemed new, and Ace found himself instinctively raising it and aiming at the far wall.

He paused, realizing what he was doing, and quickly put the gun back on the wall.

"Experience with guns," he muttered, mentally adding that to the growing list of talents he hadn't known he had. Giving the rest of the pistols a quick once-over, Ace moved on to the knives.

He picked one at random, a short combat knife, and experimentally drew it from its sheath. The weak light glinted off its razor-sharp blade, and the metal seemed to be in near-perfect condition.

But it didn't feel right. Ace pressed his lips together and set the knife back on its rack, picking up another at the same time.

This one - a serious-looking twenty-something inch bowie knife - didn't feel quite right either, and Ace put it back without even unsheathing it. He repeated the process for five other knives before giving the entire section an annoyed glance and moving on.

"Sabo doesn't know what a good knife is," he muttered, absently flexing his hand, unaware that it was hovering next to his thigh. "Those aren't right. And why is my memory being so goddamn annoying?"

Adding "experience with knives" to his mental notes, Ace walked over to a case full of grenades. Knowing better than to touch them - Sabo had told him in no uncertain terms that touching the grenades was a do-it-and-you-die action - Ace settled for trying to figure out what kind of grenades they were. He identified a simple explosive and one that was most likely a fragmentation grenade, but the others didn't look familiar at all.

"I guess I don't know grenades as well," Ace said to himself, giving the explosives one last glance before he moved on to the pipes. As before, he spent some time on the ones that seemed like normal, reinforced pipes. All the steel poles were essentially staffs, and as Ace picked one up he realized that they were heavier than they looked.

He took a few practice swings, making sure not to hit anything, and felt a smile curl his lips at the nostalgic whooshing noise. He automatically adjusted his grip and switched stances, lunging and then spinning to finish with a flourish that would have easily incapacitated his imaginary opponent.

"And I've fought with a pipe," Ace stated, returning the weapon to its proper place. He felt almost disappointed that he had to let it go, but squashed the feeling.

Moving down the row of staffs, Ace soon found the one that had made him feel so weird the last time. Its strange aura hadn't changed, and Ace's body told him not to touch the staff again.

He touched the staff again. Instantly, the strength left his limbs and he staggered back a step, head spinning for a second or two while he got his energy back.

"I don't know what I was expecting," Ace muttered, glancing at his fingers.

Shaking his head, Ace cast his gaze around the room, eventually finding the papers again. He walked over to them, picked a few up, and then went back to the pipe. Putting the paper between his hand and the surface of the pipe, Ace gingerly picked the entire thing up, making sure that he wasn't about to drop the weapon. Weakness stole through the limb, but it was bearable now.

The pipe was surprisingly heavy and Ace frowned upon lifting it from its stand. He knew from the moment he picked it up that it wasn't practical. The weight wasn't right and the pipe was too heavy to wield effectively as a staff. It would have a lot of power, sure, but no maneuverability. It didn't fit what Ace knew about Sabo, and so he set the pipe down and put the papers back where they had been.

He checked out a few of the other pipes and found that four of them made him feel weak too, but not nearly to the same degree as the first one. He realized that all of them were put in the same section of pipes and tried not to feel too stupid for not noticing that earlier.

Ace spent a few minutes examining the tag on the worst of the weakening pipes, the one with a slight blue tint.

"'Experimental Pipe Model S, series three'," he read, brows knitting. "I have no idea what that means." His eyes drifted over to the one next to it and read the tag on that one as well. "Experimental Pipe Model S, series two'." The other two were series one, and the ones that didn't affect Ace at all weren't labelled "Experimental".

Ace frowned, brows knitting as he thought. "Is Sabo trying out all these weapons or something? Testing them?" It seemed to be the most likely option, so Ace left it at that. He gave the room another look, still slightly put off by the fact that Sabo had a functional armory in his apartment, and then left.

* * *

"Hey, Sabo," Ace said, setting down the book he'd been skimming for the past few minutes, making sure that it wouldn't fall off the couch he was lying on. Sabo glanced up from his large stack of papers, one eyebrow raised in silent question. "I checked out your armory again -"

Sabo grinned. "It's really more of a collection than an armory. How'd you like my safety pictures?"

"They were so helpful. And shut up, it's an armory. Anyway, one of the weapons made me feel really weak - like, weirdly. What are those staffs made out of?"

Sabo's pen fell from his fingers. "What? Which staffs? What were they labelled?"

"Uh - the experimental ones?" Sabo shot to his feet. "Was I not supposed to touch those?"

"No, this is great!" Sabo shot Ace a grin. "It means you have a Devil Fruit, which narrows down who you could be considerably. Tell me what it felt like - did you touch all the staffs? Okay, then tell me what it felt like, from worst to best."

"Well, the Series three or whatever nearly made me collapse, series two made my arm, shoulder, and legs weak but I could stand, and series one just made my hand and some of my forearm go numb. But the series two and three didn't seem very practical -"

"That's why they're experimental," Sabo cut in, excitement dancing in his eyes. "This is perfect! I'll be right back!"

"Can you at least tell me what a Devil Fruit is?" Ace asked, but Sabo had already vanished into his room, the door closing with a bang.

Ace sighed, rubbing his head with a tired expression. "Should've seen that one coming."

He carefully picked up Sabo's scattered papers and organized them as best he could before grabbing his book again. Ace mused that he might as well learn more about pirates while he waited for Sabo to actually explain what was going on. Lying back down on the couch, Ace flipped to his page and began reading again.

Ace read until his stomach was rumbling almost continuously, but Sabo never emerged from his room. Even eavesdropping (what? He could only read for so long at a time) yielded nothing, since Sabo was speaking in low tones that didn't quite carry through the door. When his stomach could no longer be ignored, Ace made himself a quick dinner and then went back to reading, only for his narcolepsy to carry him off to sleep before he got the chance to ask Sabo about Devil Fruits.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ace woke up to a flurry of motion. He blinked, slowly focusing on Sabo, who was desperately cramming his papers into the satchel looped over his shoulder.

"Crap, crap, crap," Sabo was muttering, hair a disheveled mess and his clothes noticeably rumpled. "Stayed up too late, stupid, stupid...oh, Ace! You're awake."

"Y-yeah," Ace said, suppressing a yawn. "What's wrong, Sabo?"

The blond sheepishly grinned as he shoved the last paper into his back. "I kind of forgot to sleep last night, and time got away from me...shit! That reminds me, I've gotta go -"

"Wait!" Ace interrupted, his question from the previous night coming to the front of his mind, pushing sleep aside. "Sabo, you've at least got to tell me what a Devil Fruit is!"

Sabo glanced at Ace as he circumvented a chair, reaching for his hat. "It's a fruit," he said.

Ace stared at him. "Really."

The blond laughed at Ace's expression. "Just look it up! My password's 'dragon'."

And just like that, Sabo was out the door and Ace was left hanging, one hand still in the air and a twitch rapidly developing in his right eye. Then he let out an annoyed sigh, let his hand drop, and fell back onto the couch. Despite his burning curiosity about Devil Fruits and the hollowness in his stomach, unconsciousness pulled him under.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Ace woke up again, feeling far more awake than he had the previous time. He stumbled into the bathroom and cleaned up, pulling on clean clothes but forgoing a shirt. Pushing his wet hair out of his face, Ace walked over to the kitchen and prepared himself a quick breakfast, looking at the empty fruit bowl with a frown. He'd need to go get more food soon; at least Sabo had money set aside for that.

Once his stomach had been satisfied, Ace finally turned his attention to the curiosity burning within him.

What the hell is a Devil Fruit?

Since the universe didn't seem to be in the mood to just hand out answers, Ace settled on Sabo's laptop. He had no doubt that the password Sabo had given him was a dummy - one that led to a false but functional account and not the real one. Sabo trusted Ace, but not that much.

The machine booted up with a gentle whir and Ace entered the password, casting his gaze around the room while he waited for it to finish setting up. Then he opened up the browser and quickly typed, "Devil Fruits" into the search bar. He immediately realized his mistake upon seeing the sheer number of results, and once he saw that the very first result had something to do with a news report about a man convinced he was being followed by possessed pieces of food - fruit included - he decided to change his tactics.

"Right," Ace muttered, quickly refining the search and trying again. He spent nearly twenty minutes like that, slowly growing more and more frustrated as the Internet failed to yield any reliable results.

Just before he logged out, a link on the page caught his attention. Interest stirring, Ace clicked the link and waited as the page it connected to slowly loaded. Tapping his fingers with impatience, Ace grinned when he saw the title of the book he'd been directed to.

"'Mysterious Devil Fruits and How they Affect the Human Psyche'," Ace read. "Well, doesn't that just sound great."

Scrolling down, he was annoyed to find that anything past page thirty had to be paid for. Since Ace was broke and he didn't know Sabo's credit card number, he settled on skimming the pages he could read, jotting down anything that seemed especially important. Though, given that the title didn't seem to describe exactly what he was looking for, Ace got the feeling that he wouldn't be writing down a whole lot.

That expectation was quickly turned on its head when he found that the first twenty pages were solely dedicated to explaining what Devil Fruits were.

After getting his mental whoop of celebration out of the way, Ace began reading. It took him almost an hour and a half to get through the pages he was allowed to read; the text was dense and kept referencing things that Ace didn't recognize, and only after realizing that the date on the book was very old did he understand why he didn't recognize them.

Eventually, though, he got the information organized. Feeling rather proud of himself, Ace recited what he knew.

"Devil Fruits are strange, fruit-like objects found randomly throughout the world. They can be anywhere, and anyone can take them. A person can ingest a Devil Fruit to gain superhuman abilities ranging from invisibility to gravity manipulation, though accounts have stated that the fruits taste rather bad."

A horrible phantom taste crossed Ace's tongue and he made a face before continuing. "Once ingested, the Devil Fruit takes several minutes to make the necessary alterations to a person's body, though the time may vary between Fruits. There are three main types of Fruits: Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan. According to the severely limited data available, Logia seems to take the longest to make the changes to the user's body."

Ace paused to take a swig of the water bottle he'd grabbed earlier, when he'd taken a walk to work off some of his frustration with the Internet.

"Logia are regarded as the most powerful Devil Fruits because they grant the user a body made of whatever element the Fruit contained, as well as the ability to control that element. This elemental body grants them immunity to most physical attacks, which is partly why they are considered so dangerous. Some examples of Logia Devil Fruit elements include mud, fire, and light. Paramecia, on the other hand, can provide the ingester with any range of superhuman abilities, and display the greatest variety of all the Devil Fruit types. Zoan are perhaps the most interesting and easiest to study Fruit, since they grant the user the ability to transform into a certain animal to varying degrees. In some cases, users of Zoan-type Devil Fruits have displayed traits of their transformation animals, which will be explored later in Chapter Six."

Ace grinned, wondering which one he had. He was leaning between Logia and Zoan; though, he didn't really think he had any of the tendencies of an animal. Although, with how broad Paramecia's definition was, he could be that too.

Raising a hand, the teen gazed at the skin, wondering if his body would just give him the answer. The light from the computer screen made a kind of halo around Ace's fingers, but gave him no hints. He was still no closer to figuring out what kind of Devil Fruit he had. At least now he knew what they were.

Flicking his gaze back to the screen and lowering his hand, Ace read the last pieces of information.

"All Devil Fruit users, regardless of type and power, display a weakness towards the sea; all water seems to drain them of strength, but its effect is limited when the water is merely freshwater. Most importantly, several groups have figured out how to use Sea Stone - a semi-rare material that mimics these effects - as a weapon or restraining tool for rogue users because it denies them access to their abilities, though prolonged exposure has been shown to damage users mentally and, in some cases, physically. Those effects will be explained in greater detail in Chapter Nine."

"One other, largely unknown method of combating Devil Fruit users is known as 'Haki', which comes in three forms: Observation, Armament, and Conqueror's. The last type is the rarest, and its capabilities are a mystery, as a user has yet to be properly documented. Observation Haki grants the user incredibly enhanced perception, a kind of sixth sense that is far greater than a normal human's. Armament Haki, on the other hand, is designed to increase the durability of a person's body or weapon while also granting any parts coated with it the ability to make solid contact with a Logia user, rendering the Logia's ability to ignore physical attacks null. When in use, Armament Haki can appear as a black coating or sheen on an object or body part.

"More detail on Haki and how it affects Devil Fruit users can be found in Chapter Four."

Of course, Ace didn't have access to anything past Chapter One, so he ignored that last part, though he had written it just in case he somehow got ahold of this book and wanted to check that chapter.

He drummed his fingers on the laptop, debating the pros and cons of scouring the internet again. Considering that this was the first real lead - and best source of information - that he'd found after so long, Ace wasn't inclined to keep looking. Plus, he was hungry. And fidgety.

Closing the browser and logging off, Ace left Sabo's room and went back to the kitchen, making himself a quick sandwich with the limited ingredients he had. As he ate, he looked out the window, eyes on the distant horizon but not quite focused. A cloud covered the sun and Ace blinked, realizing that he'd zoned out after finishing his food.

Deciding that he needed to do something, Ace rearranged the furniture in the sitting area and pulled out the mat, quickly beginning his stretches. As he shifted from stance to stance, he thought about those pipes in Sabo's armory. They were undoubtedly made of Sea Stone, and if the intensity varied with each one…

They probably contained different concentrations of Sea Stone, which would explain both the "experimental" label - no doubt the incorporation of Sea Stone into staffs was recent - and why they got heavier each time. Sea Stone didn't seem like a light material, especially after the regular metal pipes had been light and weighted nicely.

A bead of sweat slipped into Ace's eye and he blinked it out, resisting the urge to break the flow of his movements to wipe it away. Another slid down his back, and he ignored that as well.

Thoughts of Devil Fruits and their counters swirled around Ace's mind, and the young man found himself cursing his lost memory - not for the first time, and certainly not for the last.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After spending the entire previous day practically cooped up inside Sabo's apartment - except for the hour he spent getting groceries in the afternoon - Ace was itching to get out and do something. He didn't know what he wanted to do, of course, but he figured that just going outside would present him with some answers. Stomach full, sunglasses on his head, and grin on his face, Ace strode out of Sabo's apartment and took his usual route using the old fire escape, relishing the rush of adrenaline as he always did.

When his boots hit the ground, Ace felt the impact up to his knees and eyed the cracks in the ground with a raised eyebrow. Had he caused those?

Well, whatever. He strode off, flipping his sunglasses over his eyes as he went. The breeze picked up his hair and toyed with it, reminding Ace that he'd forgotten his hat. The young man briefly debated going back to get the baseball cap, but decided against it. He was already outside and didn't feel like going back in immediately.

* * *

Instead of sticking to the main roads - and, basically, the more respectable part of the city - Ace made the executive decision to go to the parts of Low Town that smart people tried to avoid.

What? He was bored. Plus, his feet had carried him there before he had fully realized it.

He kept his posture relaxed and his stride even as he went down roads that had seen better days. Some were even made of brick - though the brick was torn up in most places, almost as though people had used it to repair their old homes that lined the roads. Yet most of the streets were relatively clean and could pass as normal if the peeling paint and general aura of the buildings nearby didn't give the entire place a dangerous air.

Ace eyed an apartment window, saw someone duck out of sight. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

But now what? He'd come here half-expecting to find a situation that could activate his power - if such a situation even existed - but this place was almost as boring as Sabo's apartment, and it didn't have food, either. No vendors wanted to sell on these streets.

So when Ace heard shouts from a nearby alley, he was immediately suspicious, and only became more so when the shouting abruptly stopped. Guard up, Ace darted into that alley, sticking to the shadows and ignoring some of the more questionable substances puddled on the ground.

Carefully approaching the first corner, Ace crouched down and slowly peeked around the edge, ready for anything.

His eyes narrowed when he saw four men and a flash of blue. The men were clearly struggling with something, and as Ace watched, one of them growled, "Stop struggling, you damned woman!"

That set off alarm bells in Ace's mind and protective instincts drove him to move forward and tap the nearest man on the shoulder.

"What?" The man growled irritably. "I'm a little bu - wait, who the hell are you?!"

Ace grinned easily, held up a hand, and then used it to smash the man's nose in with a well-placed palm strike. Ugly Number One went down with a howl of pain, blood flying from his face, and the other three immediately took notice. Ace floored Number Two with a hard kick to his knee - hearing a satisfying crack - and ducked under a haymaker from Number Three. Number Four tried to follow up, but he was messy, and Ace ducked under his jab and executed a throw that sent the man hard into the nearby wall, an impact that drove the breath from his lungs with a pained gasp.

Number Two - who probably wasn't capable of standing anymore, if the ugly angle of his knee meant anything - tried to grab Ace's ankle, but Ace stomped hard on his fingers, earning another cry of pain, and then quickly turned, burying his fist in Number Three's stomach.

Number Three let out a pathetic wheeze and crumpled. Ace knocked him out just to be sure, and repeated the process with Number Four - whose attempt to get back up after being thrown had ended with a hard punch to the jaw - and Number One soon met a similar fate. That left Number Two, who was moaning rather pathetically on the ground, clutching his leg but not daring to touch his own knee because of the pain.

"So," Ace said, turning to face the woman who had quickly backed away from the men as soon as Ace had grabbed their attention, "who might you be, and why were these men assaulting you?"

The woman - Ace idly noted that she had blue hair alongside a black eye (no doubt courtesy of those men - swallowed, looked at the men on the ground, and then stared into Ace's eyes. Her face went white.

She turned and sprinted away before Ace could even get a good look at her features, hair flying behind her. Ace didn't pursue, mostly because she'd gotten a head start and she was surprisingly quick. Plus, she looked scared enough already. Of course, she could get into more trouble, but…

Ace sighed and began slowly walking in the direction that the woman had run, only for a groan to stop him. He glanced back at Ugly Number Two, whose face was pale and taut with pain. Ace didn't feel bad for him, but leaving him like that...well, that would be cruel, wouldn't it? So Ace walked over and crouched down, rapping on the man's skull to get his attention.

"Hey, who was that woman?"

"F-f-fuck y-you," the man spat. Ace tsked.

"Not the right answer." He casually reached over and put his hand on the man's injured knee, seeing his pupils dilate considerably at the contact. "Who. Was. She?"

The man's lips had gone white as he bit down on them to stop a cry of pain, but the effort was in vain as Ace tightened his grip. Number Two screamed and even when Ace let go he kept gasping, his chest heaving.

"Well?" Ace looked at the man's knee meaningfully.

"V-Vivi!" The man helped, giving in. "Vivi Nefertari! Just leave me the hell alone you crazy bastard!"

"Fine," Ace replied, standing. "I'll let you wallow in your misery." His foot came down hard on the man's temple. "Not."

Walking away from the four unconscious goons with his hands in his pockets, Ace wondered whether he would be able to catch up to that woman - Vivi. He could at least explain that he hadn't meant to scare her or whatever. Then again, with the way that thug had said her name, she was probably someone of importance in the city. Following her might not be the best idea if he wasted to remain relatively unknown.

Ace took a deep breath, closing his eyes -

 _"Luffy, get out of the way!"_

 _Reaching out, shoving someone - a kid? - feeling something cutting across his chest but thinking, better me than him -_

Ace gasped, his eyes shooting wide open as he caught himself against the alley wall before he fell. "What was that?" He muttered, shaking his head to clear it. "Luffy…" That name again. Clearly someone important. Ace set his jaw, his goal for the next day set.

 _I have to find and talk to Luffy._

Straightening, Ace abruptly turned and looked behind him, catching a glimpse of someone's arm before they ducked out of sight. He took a step, fully intent on investigating, but voices from behind him gave him pause. They sounded familiar.

"-elling you, you asshole, it's not like that!"

"No need to yell. I'm just saying -"

"Don't!"

"Kid?" Ace asked, stepping into the street, squinting as the sunlight hit his eyes. Still, he couldn't mistake the bright flare of crimson on the other man's head. "What are you doing here?"

The infamous gang leader blinked, peering at Ace for a second before recognition kicked in. "Oh, it's you. I could ask you the same question."

"I'm exploring," Ace said simply. Kid raised an eyebrow.

"Exploring?" He repeated. "You new in town or somethin'?"

"Yeah," Ace affirmed. _Something like that_ , he added mentally. "So, you?"

"This is my territory," Kid said. "I like to check in every now and then."

"You like to see if there's anyone stupid enough to encroach," Killer clarified. Kid grinned.

"Last time some punk was try t' sell some dumbass new drug over there." Kid nodded at the alley Ace had just emerged from. "Claimed he was with Blackbeard - new guy in the gang world, if you didn't know. Kicked the seller's ass, left him for dead."

Ace barely stopped himself from reacting at the mention of Blackbeard. Something about shining teeth and a broken smile - but anything he could remember was gone now except for a bad feeling, and so Ace pushed those memories aside for now.

"Did he die?"

Kid shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. He deserved it."

Ace was tempted to ask how old the kid had been, but decided against it. Instead, he indicated Kid's arm. "I've been meaning to ask -" Kid stiffened, anger flickering at the edges of his expression, but Ace continued, "where did you get that arm done? It looks kickass, and the thing's complicated enough that an amateur would have a hell of a time even imitating it."

Kid's gang seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief as Kid's expression filled with interest that pushed away the anger. "So you know machines 'n shit?"

"Some." _I have no idea. Apparently._ Kid nodded to himself, satisfied.

"I'm likin' you more and more every time," Kid said. "All right, I can't tell ya much -" he glanced at Killer, who nodded slightly, "but it's custom job. Did it - er, a lot of it myself."

"A lot of it?" Ace echoed, watching Kid carefully. There - right as he nodded, his eyes flicked to Killer. Ace pretended that he hadn't noticed. "That's pretty sweet. You know the specs?"

"'Course I do." Kid raised the prosthetic, flexing the fingers and grinning as they caught the light. From the expression on the gang leader's face, Ace was starting to see just how he'd gotten to where he was in the world.

The next few minutes passed in a whirl of conversation that Ace was only half following; part of his brain seemed to be incredibly engaged with Kid's arm, finding fascination and curiosity in equal amounts about the design and its functionality, while the other half was wondering when the conversation would end. That wandering half soon found something to focus on: another face was peeking in from a second-story window in a shuttered apartment complex that had clearly seen better days.

"One second," Ace said, interrupting Kid. The redhead frowned, but Ace took off before he could say anything. Demonstrating impressive agility, Ace scaled the side of the building, using protruding bricks and a windowsill as handholds to haul himself to the window.

He jumped inside, rolling as broken glass rained down around him, and hopped to his feet, guard up and eyes scanning the dark room. His legs ached in slight protest of the sudden action, but the pain wasn't that bad.

No one there, but -

The door was open, and the dust nearby was disturbed by footprints.

"Who the hell are you?" Ace muttered, straightening right as Kid and his crew appeared in the doorway, some of them breathing hard from climbing the stairs.

"What the fuck, Ace?" Kid snapped. "Don't break off our conversation like some kind of asshole."

"I apologize; there was someone watching us from here, but they got away." Kid's eyes narrowed and flicked to the stairs.

"Anyone see anything?" They shook their heads, and Kid returned his gaze to Ace. "Well, are you -"

Ace wordlessly pointed to the footprints in the dust, clearly not from Kid's crew or Ace himself. Kid blinked and then scowled.

"Someone's interloping on my turf. Heat, check out the back. I don't want anyone around my shed, you hear?"

The tall, white-haired man in the back nodded and headed back down the stairs. Kid sighed.

"Gonna have to talk to you later, Ace," he said. "I've got shit t' do."

"It's not a problem," Ace replied with a wave of his hand. "If you happen to catch whoever's been stalking me, feel free to remove a finger or three." _Shit, did I just say that?_

Kid nodded. "I don't think that'll be a problem."

Ace watched them go, hearing their boots on the stairs and then going to the window until they were out of sight. He glanced at the footprints again and then kneeled next to them, eyes narrowing as he tried to figure out anything distinguishable. But no, they were generic footprints; boots, though, if Ace had to guess.

"Ah, I did kind of ask for it," he muttered, getting back to his feet. He slowly went back to the street, hearing his footsteps echo in the stairwell. When he was back on the street, he took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of the sunlight hitting his face.

When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by no fewer than fifteen figures dressed in odd yellow hazmat suits, gloves, and (well, would you look at that) boots. Strange animal masks covered their visors, making it impossible to see their faces, and more than a few carried bats, knives, and other weapons. Thankfully, Ace didn't see any guns.

"Gentlemen," he greeted dryly, letting his arms hang by his sides. They didn't respond verbally, instead closing the circle. Ace tsked, dropping into a ready stance.

The first bat missed him by inches as Ace ducked and whirled, kicking the man's hand and knocking the bat into the air. Grabbing said weapon, Ace dodged another attack from a man behind him and brained the first attacker with his own bat.

Ace jumped to avoid a sweep at his ankles and deflected a club with the bat, feeling himself get pushed back into two waiting arms. Bringing his elbow forward, Ace lashed out, hearing the animal mask and the visor beneath crack and shatter under the impact. The man staggered back, but his partner kept hanging on, and there were three more quickly converging on Ace and the young man just _knew_ that Sabo was never going to let him hear the end of this -

The nearest man went down in a shower of blood. Two more quickly followed suit, and then a third. Soon, the men had backed off to figure out the new threat, leaving Ace gasping on his knees while he waited for his body to recover. His muscles still weren't in the condition he needed them to be in to properly fight for any real length of time. His elbow ached.

Ace lifted his head and tried to get a look at whoever had just saved him from suffocation by tackling, still very aware of the bat he'd dropped lying less than a foot away.

He saw a long black coat, spotted jeans, and a white hat before the incredibly long sword grabbed his attention. The sword dripped blood, and its wielder held it in a chillingly relaxed pose that showed his experience with the weapon.

"Who the hell are you?" Ace asked, his usual manners superseded by suspicion. Besides, who carried a sword like that around? It was nearly as tall as Ace was!

The man glanced at Ace, a smirk twisting his lips. Ace caught a glimpse of yellow irises and dark blue hair (almost black until the light caught it) before the man returned his attention to the attackers. Now that Ace had an armed ally, the hazmat men looked far less excited about the prospect of attacking.

"Leave," the man said, expertly flicking the blood off his sword and sheathing the weapon. There was a dry and annoyed tone in his voice. "And tell Ceasar to keep his hands off other people's patients."

For a second, Ace thought that the men wouldn't leave. Then one took a step back, and then another, and another, until the entire group filtered away. Ace stared at the spot they'd just occupied, still trying to process what had just happened. Then he blinked and shook his head to clear it, refocusing on the man.

Except a different view got in the way.

 _"Fuck, I'm tired," Ace gasped. He glanced up, grinning at the blurry figure in front of him. "You still good?"_

 _"Like I'll be finished before you," the figure replied good-naturedly. Ace blinked, and his attention momentarily shifted past the person as a flag on the wall came into sharp focus. On it was a proud skull and crossbones, a comically large mustache stretched over the grin. "Come on," the person said, pulling Ace's attention back to him, "we've only been doing this for a few hours. Don't zone out on me now. Stand up!"_

 _Ace groaned theatrically. "Fine, fine."_

 _"Ace! They're serving lunch now, and if you don't hurry I'm going to steal your pie!"_

 _"Like hell you will!"_

The freckled young man blinked, refocusing on reality as the vision of blurry faces and concrete floors faded from his mind. He saw the man staring at him and wiped the confusion off his face, getting to his feet and trying to pretend that he didn't stagger when he did.

Something felt off about that memory. It felt positive, but the end...It held a taint. But he couldn't focus on that now.

"You look a little worse for wear," the man said, that smirk still on his face. Ace stared back, trying not to let the guy's I-know-more-than-you attitude elicit a reaction.

"I've been better," Ace acknowledged warily.

 _Do I know this guy?_

"Usually I would not need to step in, especially in a fight against men like Caesar's." There was interest in the man's eyes. Ace bristled automatically.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not at my best," Ace said, annoyed that this guy was essentially making him repeat himself.

"Oh? I didn't realize a loss of memory affected one's physical capabilities."

Ace froze. "You -"

"Since you clearly don't recognize me, my name is Law Trafalgar. I'm a doctor."

"There's no way in hell you're a doctor."

"Fortunately, we are not in Hell, and therefore I am a doctor. An underground doctor, but a doctor all the same."

Ace resisted the urge to snap at Law. "You keep talking to me like we were friends or something. Do you know who I am? And if you knew me, who was I?"

Law shrugged. He almost looked smug. "It's not my place to say."

"Bastard. You're enjoying this, aren't you? And how did you even know to come here - and if you just were planning on being an ass like this, why come at all?"

"Name-calling is childish. Besides, I didn't come here to talk to you, though I do so enjoy the opportunity to study your behavior and fighting style."

"Why?"

Law ignored the question. "I was tailing Caesar's gang. They rarely emerge from his warehouse, and when they do, it typically means that they are searching for more victims to kidnap."

"And you're tailing them because…?"

"Last time, they attempted to kidnap me and some of my men. Therefore, I have decided to convince them that so much as seeing sunlight will end in their bloodshed."

Ace raised an eyebrow at Law's bloodlust but he didn't comment. "So you're not going to tell me anything about the person I was?"

"Correct."

"How did you even know about my amnesia?"

Law took a second to think, his piercing eyes drilling into Ace's. "You have been missing for some time. Taking into account your apparently injured state and lack of recognition upon seeing me, I guessed amnesia. Your reaction proved me correct."

"You're kind of a prick."

"You're too kind."

Ace rolled his eyes and turned to walk away, but Law's voice stopped him. "Go to the Baratie tomorrow. I believe you may get some answers after the lunch rush."

"Oh, for -" Ace turned around, "can't you just tell me? Is that really so hard?"

Law shrugged as insultingly as he could manage. "Who knows? I will say that Luffy will likely be there."

"Law…"

"Don't make me cut off your legs and arms again, Portgas," Law cautioned as Ace took a step forward. Ace's eyes narrowed. Law had felt threatened enough by him to say that, despite how easily he'd dealt with those earlier hazmat men.

And then Law's words clicked, and Ace froze. _Portgas_.

 _Is that my name? My surname? Ace Portgas?_

Something was still missing, but Ace dragged himself back to the present as Law's message finally came together in his head.

"Wait, what do you mean 'again'?"

But Law had already made his escape in that brief moment Ace hadn't been paying attention. Ace glared at the spot the man had occupied, less-than-charitable thoughts filling his head. Then he sighed, scratching the back of his neck while he regarded the bloodstains decorating the ground around him. Oddly, seeing those men get cut up hadn't bothered Ace in the slightest.

"Baratie tomorrow at lunch," he muttered to himself. He'd heard that restaurant name before, but where? As he began walking back to Sabo's place, it clicked. The Baratie was the name of the restaurant he'd seen Luffy outside of. Excitement bubbled in Ace's chest. Maybe he'd finally start figuring out what was going on.

It took Ace nearly an hour to get to Sabo's apartment again, largely because he got on the wrong bus and then fell asleep for ten minutes, which landed him on the opposite side of the city. But he made it back eventually, and to his surprise, Sabo was home when he arrived.

"You're back early," Ace commented as he closed the door, eyeing Sabo, who was frowning contemplatively at something on the couch.

"Nothing to do today," Sabo said. "You know what this is?" He held up a black scrap of cloth hardly larger than his palm. "It's flame-resistant but I can't find any hint of where it was made."

"Where'd you find it?" Ace asked curiously. He walked over and took the material, rubbing it between his fingers. It was thin but not see-through.

"It was stuck between the couch cushions," Sabo answered. "I think it was yours - or, whatever it's from was. You sure you don't know?"

"Positive," Ace said, handing the scrap back to Sabo. "By the way, lots of fun stuff happened on the lower side of town today. You'll never guess what."

"You got into a fight."

"Wha - How'd you know?"

"You've got that semi-pleased look on your face. You had it after our spar as well."

Ace flushed and tried to wipe the unconscious smirk from his lips to no avail. "Well, I did. But before that, I met up with Kid." Ace went on to explain everything that had happened, carefully omitting the part about the Jolly Roger he'd seen in his flashback and his entire conversation with Law. For some reason, he got the impression that revealing that information to Sabo would drastically change things, and Ace wasn't quite ready for that yet. He still had to look up whatever the hell that symbol meant. Ace did know, however, that it was the key to the puzzle.

"I swear, you're trying to give me a heart attack before I'm twenty-two," Sabo groaned when Ace finished. "Go snack or something. I need stress relief. God, I'm actually looking forward to paperwork. At least that won't get itself killed while I'm not around."

"Can I borrow your laptop?"

"Tablet on the kitchen counter. Password's still 'dragon'."

"Thanks!"

As Sabo went to his room, Ace slid into one of the stools by the counter and tapped the password into the tablet, grinning when it unlocked. In less than a minute he'd pulled up the police force's public database of gang symbols. He scrolled through them, that grinning skull firmly within his mind's eye.

He saw it. Clicked the link. Read the name.

"Oh," Ace said quietly, his eyes widening. "So that's it."

He closed the window and erased the history, setting the tablet down and heading back to the couch in a daze. Moving on autopilot, Ace laid down and closed his eyes, letting sleep carry him away to a land of grinning skulls and pirate flags.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

After a large breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, fruit, and several other side dishes that had already faded from Ace's memory, Ace felt that he was ready to face Luffy. Despite his determination to go, he still felt twitchy, and couldn't sit still for more than a minute before he got up and began pacing.

 _What if he doesn't actually know me? What if I'm just some random stranger to him? What if I look like an idiot? What if he doesn't like me? What if he was an enemy? What if, what if, what if?_

The new information Ace had found the previous night wasn't helping matters at all. He was a part of the Whitebeard Gang, one of the most infamous gangs - if not _the_ most infamous gang - in the entire city. Whitebeard's name stretched even beyond the rather impressive borders of his territory, and legends of his strength and the strength of his people were common knowledge throughout the city. Civilians were advised to find a safe location if they spotted anyone with the mark, so even the police were incredibly wary of him.

 _What if he's in a different gang? What if he's a part of Whitebeard's and expects me to know everything? What if losing my memory screws everything up?_

And then a particularly chilling thought crossed Ace's mind. _What if the person I was isn't even close to the person I am now?_

He shook his head to clear it. He couldn't think about how regaining his memory would change things - because he was _going_ to get his memory back, and he'd figure everything out from there. Luffy would have the answers, one way or another. Ace was sure of that.

Taking a deep breath, Ace stopped pacing behind the couch and forced his worries to the side. Thinking about the what-ifs wouldn't help him; he just needed to go.

 _But I've already been missing for over three weeks,_ Ace thought, only to squash the idea. It shouldn't matter. Right?

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'm just gonna go," he muttered, fed up with his own indecision.

* * *

The Baratie still had plenty of patrons when Ace got there, despite the fact that the lunch rush had passed a little less than an hour ago. Fortunately, Ace could see several open tables, and he still had money he'd lifted from Sabo.

He was going to pay the blond back, of course. Just as soon as he found some cash of his own. Whenever that happened.

"Party of one?" The hostess asked, eyeing Ace. He nodded. She led him across the restaurant - just as fancy on the inside as the outside, Ace noted, but no less practical because of it - and sat him in a small, two-person booth. "Wait here. Your server will be right with you."

"Thank you," Ace said politely. She smiled at him and hurried away to help the next customer.

He bounced his leg under the table, unable to help his nervous energy. After glancing at the menu, Ace settled on the first three choices that caught his attention and turned his attention to the rest of the people in the restaurant.

There was no sign of Luffy.

Ace had ordered a drink, finished it, ordered another as well as his food, and received his food before the energetic young boy walked through the door. The freckled young man noticed Luffy instantly; the entire atmosphere of the room seemed to change, and what felt like an electric charged pricked at his skin.

Luffy was walking his way, talking to a man with shockingly green hair and laughing brightly. The moment he got close to Ace, allowing the older man to clearly see his face, Ace dropped his fork from shock.

The sudden clatter made both Luffy and the other man turn to look at Ace, who had immediately turned and reached down to pick his fork up from the floor. By the time he sat up again, Luffy had come and gone. Cursing himself, Ace stared at his fork. Should he get up to get a new one or wait for his waitress?

"Here."

The blond man from Ace's first Luffy encounter was there, holding out a fork. "Thank you," Ace said, taking it. He noticed that the man - clearly a waiter - was staring at him and tried not to obviously look at his rather odd eyebrows. "Something the matter?"

"No, not really."

A suspicious answer if Ace had ever heard one. "By the way, who's that kid?" He gestured to Luffy, who was waving excitedly to the green-haired man. "He seems...excitable."

Momentary shock filled the waiter's features, almost as though he couldn't believe that Ace didn't recognize the black-haired boy. Then he smoothed his features, offering a professional smile that looked more than a little strained around the edges. "His name is Luffy. He's a regular here."

"Ah. Thank you." Ace let the conversation drop and the waiter walked away, but for some reason Ace got the impression that the entire atmosphere of the restaurant had just shifted once again.

The rest of his meal passed in relative peace, though occasionally he heard loud, excited exclamations from Luffy's direction. Oddly, while finishing his last few bites, he realized that he was smiling into his food. After paying, he walked out, fully intent on loitering until Luffy came out, since he didn't want to possibly cause a scene inside the restaurant.

The green-haired man was waiting for him outside, his three gold earrings glimmering and momentarily distracting Ace from the piercing, dangerous look in his eyes.

"Can I help you?" Ace finally said, his guard going up.

"What are you doing here?" The man asked bluntly. "You damn near killed your brother, so why show your face like nothing happened?"

Ace blanched. "What? What are you talking about?"

The man scowled, shifting his weight slightly in displeasure. "What are _you_ talking about?"

This was going nowhere. Sighing, Ace decided to be as blunt as the man standing in front of him. He looked the man in the eyes. "I lost my memory. Whatever you're talking about, I don't know about."

The man stared. Then he brought one hand to his forehead, blowing out a breath. "Figures." He removed his hand. "I'll make this simple. You're Luffy's br - hey!"

He barely caught Ace before the unconscious man hit the sidewalk.

* * *

Ace woke up to muted voices. He groaned softly, feeling that peculiar cottony sensation leave his brain as the last vestiges of the narcoleptic attack cleared up. Judging from the noise, he wasn't outside the Baratie anymore. Somewhat annoyed with himself for falling asleep in such a situation, Ace sat up and cracked open his eyes, blinking while they adjusted to the light -

Something dark flew at him and Ace couldn't react in time. It slammed into him, almost throwing him off the bed he'd been lying on. For all that the impact stunned Ace, it hadn't hurt; the thing had almost bounced off him at first.

"What the hell?" Ace growled, preparing to shove the thing off him. A peculiar noise stopped him and Ace hesitated, trying to puzzle out what it was. He soon realized that the sound was coming from the thing that had hit him, and that the thing was moving.

The thing was a person. A sobbing, crying, mess of a person.

Ace stared at the boy that had flying-tackled him and was still wrapped around Ace's chest as though the older man would disappear if he didn't. "Uh, hello?"

The boy looked up and Ace saw the scar and the black hair before his mind made the connection.

 _Luffy._

"You're alive!" Luffy blubbered, the words barely intelligible around the snot dribbling from his nose. Ace gaped, trying to find the words to cover his shock and failing miserably. "You're really alive!"

Those few words shot Ace's expectations of how their conversations would go right to hell. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the boy and for some reason his heart was clenching in his chest. Hesitantly, he put his arms around Luffy and pulled him closer, resting his chin on the top of Luffy's head. He fumbled for words that wouldn't make him sound like an idiot. Softly, Ace managed to say, "Yeah, of course I am."

Luffy hiccuped and Ace began rubbing his back, his mind going a hundred miles an hour as he tried to figure out just what the hell was going on. Looking over Luffy, Ace saw that he was in a refitted warehouse of some kind. Some areas had been sectioned off, and the entire place was impressively cleaned and organized. The roof even had skylights permitting sunlight to pool on the floor, and Ace saw two gardens growing under specially-made windows.

Did Luffy live here?

His eyes roved the warehouse as Luffy continued crying into him and soon made eye contact with the green-haired man, whose hard gaze was no less intimidating than it had been outside the Baratie. Ace acknowledged him with a simple look and moved on, taking in the four other people. He saw the waiter, an orange-haired women he kind of recognized, a teen with an impressively long nose and equally impressive hair, and a woman with dark hair standing in the back that Ace almost overlooked.

They were all staring at Ace, or, more likely, the boy still wrapped around Ace's body.

Ace lifted his chin off Luffy's head and carefully pulled away, putting some distance between him and Luffy, though he kept holding Luffy's hands because the boy wasn't willing to let go entirely. Luffy seemed to have calmed down enough to speak clearly, and Ace winced as the boy inhaled deeply through his runny nose.

"You're really okay," Luffy sniffled, wiping his nose again. His face was an odd mix of ecstatic joy and relief, which contrasted heavily with the tear tracts and snot. "Blackbeard kept saying…" he trailed off, then rallied. "He's stupid, though, and mean. He's a liar. A dirty, smelly liar."

Blackbeard. Ace fixated on that name, his grip on Luffy's wrist tightening out of reflex. "Blackbeard?" He repeated. Luffy nodded, his expression turning dark.

"Teach kept saying that he killed you, but he was lying."

That name brought up a nearly overwhelming tide of fury in Ace - so much more than "Blackbeard" - and he didn't realize he'd been squeezing Luffy's hands too tightly until the boy mentioned so. Ace hurriedly loosened his grip and apologized, though Luffy didn't seem to be in any pain.

"Hey, Ace," the green-haired man called dryly, "isn't there something you have to tell Luffy?"

Ace frowned at him, confused. What would he need to tell Luffy? It wasn't as though he knew anything -

 _Oh. Duh._

"Um, Luffy?" Ace said, getting the kid's attention. He tried to suppress the feeling of guilt that rose within him; he was going to crush Luffy's relief with his next words. "I kind of...lost my memory, so I don't really know who you are. Or this Blackbeard guy. Or anyone else."

Luffy stared. And stared. And stared. Right as Ace began to get creeped out, Luffy blinked. "Really?"

"Well, yeah. I don't think I'd lie about something like that." That hadn't been what Ace was expecting.

"So...you don't know who I am?"

"I know your name is Luffy," Ace said placatingly, seeing how much that information disturbed the young boy. "And that you and I were closely connected before. I just don't remember any details."

"You're my brother," Luffy stated.

"I'm your - wait, what?"

"My brother," Luffy repeated firmly.

"Oh," Ace said after a beat, his voice small. He hadn't been expecting that either. "Really?"

"Yup."

Ace quickly checked the expressions of the other people in the room. None of them seemed surprised; they all stared back at him, waiting for his reaction. Tension thickened the air and Ace realized that his response to Luffy's declaration would determine how these people treated him.

Well, being Luffy's brother didn't seem so bad. The kid was nice, excitable, and - if what Ace had already observed meant anything - strong enough to accumulate a group of disparate people around himself.

Ace smiled and ruffled Luffy's hair, earning a displeased squawk from the unsuspecting teen as he struggled to keep from falling and crushing the hat on his back. Laughing, Ace felt the tension ease and knew he'd made the right choice.

* * *

Ace's head was whirling. The orange-haired women - Nami - had been grilling him for information about nearly everything Ace didn't remember, and the older man had a headache from trying to recall things that weren't there anymore. He'd tried to explain that, but Nami was insistent. Eventually, Ace had settled on just being honest, not that that had really helped much.

"I give up!" Nami declared, throwing her hands up in frustration and walking away from Ace. "His memory's so lost I don't know if it even wants to be found!"

Luffy looked at Ace, who just shrugged.

In the end, Ace ended up talking with Zoro, who appeared to be the sanest of the lot. The swordsman didn't show any obvious reactions to Ace's memory loss besides his initial burst of dry irritation with the situation in general, and Ace appreciated the normal conversation. After Nami, he just needed some time to get his head back together.

"So you don't know what happened," Zoro said casually, watching as Nami tried to explain to Luffy exactly what was up with Ace's memory. Ace sighed.

"Yeah. It's...irritating. As hell."

Zoro smirked. "I would guess so. Do you want to know what happened?"

"Of course I do," Ace said immediately. "Whatever happened was important and if it made me forget him -" he nodded at Luffy, "then I deserve to know what."

"How much do you remember about Luffy?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ace's lips twisted as he thought. His eyes took on a faraway look. "It's...hard to explain. I know he was - is - my brother. I know his name, and whenever I'm around him I fall into this routine that feels...familiar. Right, I guess. But I don't know anything specific, just that I should know something."

Zoro made a noise of acknowledgement and the two stood in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Ace broke the impasse.

"What happened?"

Zoro glanced at him sidelong and then down at the floor, working his jaw. "Do you want the simple version?"

"Whatever works for you. I just - I just need to know."

"Well then." Zoro thought for a moment and then said bluntly, "Teach, one of your former subordinates in the Whitebeard Gang who now goes by the name Blackbeard in certain circles, tried to assassinate you while you were spying on some rich kid, and then took some of your belongings back to Whitebeard as proof. Apparently you put up a fight; your stuff was scorched and burned along the edges."

"Not enough of one," Ace commented, staring down at his hands. "So Teach - Blackbeard - claims that he killed me. Why? What's the motive?"

Zoro took a while to respond, his hand moving to rest casually on the hilts of the three swords at his waist. To anyone else it may have been a simple move to a more comfortable position, but Ace could see that Zoro was upset in some way by what he was about to say.

"I have no doubt that he did it to get to Luffy."

Ace's eyes shot wide open, involuntarily looking to the boy talking animatedly to Nami several yards away. "What?"

Zoro sighed, briefly shutting his eyes. "It's difficult to explain. Blackbeard is currently still with Whitebeard; he's kept his hand in your supposed death a secret, instead claiming that the revolutionaries had something to do with it. He staged everything, of course, and is circulating the truth in less-than-savory circles. But the reality is that the Revolutionaries want nothing more to do with Whitebeard than Whitebeard wants to do with them."

"He's trying to play the two off each other?" Ace asked.

"Seems that way. I don't know if you remember, but Whitebeard is fiercely protective of his gang - he sees them as his family, his sons and daughters and the like. The revolutionaries attacking them would be an insult Whitebeard could not ignore, and he would strike back. The resulting conflict would create chaos throughout the city. Blackbeard could use that confusion to capture Luffy and turn him in."

"But why would he want to do that?"

"Because he's an asshole," Zoro stated flatly, "and because he wants to strengthen his gang by any means necessary. He could use the sway he gets from turning in Luffy to get close to Impel Down and subsequently break out some of the powerful prisoners held there while the police are still preoccupied with the Whitebeard conflict. Basically, your supposed death gave him the groundwork he needed to cause the chaos he wanted."

"Blackbeard has a gang? I thought he was with Whitebeard's. And why would turning in Luffy bring in such a high reward?"

"Blackbeard's gang is secret, kept in hiding until Teach is ready to break away from Whitebeard," Zoro explained. "Robin has been keeping tabs on him and his gang for some time now, especially after she began working with the revolutionaries. Still, they're hard to find. No doubt Blackbeard is saving them for the big reveal."

"And Luffy?"

"Our shitty leader's gotten himself quite the reputation," Sanji said as he walked over, leaving Usopp, Nami, Luffy, and Robin to talk amongst themselves. "He's one of the Supernovas in this city; rising gang leaders or members that the police believe pose a significant threat to the general order of things. As such, they put a high bounty on Luffy's head and the heads of the others in the hopes that a rival gang will take them out."

"I see," Ace murmured. The very idea of Blackbeard targeting Luffy made Ace sick to his stomach, and the reasons behind it didn't help. A memory suddenly popped into his head. "Do either of you know about Kid?"

"Eustass Kid?" Sanji repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, he's another Supernova with a bounty nearly as high as Luffy's. Why?"

"I've met him a few times," Ace explained. "We played soccer."

Zoro sighed and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like an exasperated, "Brothers."

"So, do you have a plan?" Sanji asked Ace. "Blackbeard is still with Whitebeard, though no one knows how long he's going to stay."

"Why hasn't he been uncovered sooner?"

"He's a tricky bastard," Zoro growled. "We were about to go to Whitebeard with the information Robin had gathered when news of your death reached us. Needless to say, we've been a bit preoccupied since then."

"Understandable," Ace said quickly. "Thank you for telling me all of this."

"Not a problem," Sanji replied. "You're Luffy's brother, after all. Besides, you've helped us plenty in the past."

Ace nodded, mentally pocketing the latter piece of information. Apparently he and Luffy had a very positive relationship. That was a relief and a slight weight off the burden on his shoulders.

"I think I'm going to go back to Whitebeard," Ace said slowly, as he thought through his answer to Sanji's earlier question. "I'll have to be careful, though. And there are still some things I want to do beforehand." Thanking Sabo, for one. "Stopping whatever Blackbeard has planned with Whitebeard and the revolutionaries is priority number one. I don't want anyone else to get caught up in his schemes like I did."

"We'll have your back," Zoro said immediately. He grinned slightly, the expression predatory enough to send slight chills down Ace's spine. "No matter what, Luffy and all of us will support you."

"You speak for Luffy?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. Zoro's expression didn't change much, though it gained some gravity.

"I don't speak for him. We all think like our captain; our people come first. You're included in that group."

Those words created a strangely warm feeling in his chest, but Ace just nodded. "Thank you."

Zoro smirked. "Don't thank me yet."

"Whenever we find trouble, we do it in a big way," Sanji elaborated.

Ace wasn't sure what to make of those words, but Luffy distracted him before he could think about them too much. "Ace!"

"Luffy," Ace greeted, catching the younger boy and depositing him gently on the ground. "Careful when you do that, idiot. One of these days you'll hit me when I'm not ready."

Luffy grinned. "But you're always ready!"

Ace's lips twitched. _Are we seriously related?_ "You're pretty confident. Did you have something to say?"

"Luffy is wondering why you're not with Whitebeard," the older woman (Ace recalled her name was Robin) said smoothly. "He seems to be unaware of the fact that your memory loss would have an effect on where you stayed."

"He's kind of oblivious like that," the long-nosed teen said with a chuckle. Ace searched his memory for a second and came up with the name Usopp, which sounded right.

Ace returned his gaze to Luffy. "Luffy, I didn't know I was a part of Whitebeard's gang until very recently."

"But you were gonna get a tattoo," Luffy said slowly, tilting his head slightly to one side in confusion. "A huge one. On your back."

Ace had seen his own back and knew for a fact that there was no such tattoo. "Apparently this happened before I could get it. Though that would've made this whole fiasco a hell of a lot easier."

"So you're not with the giant mustache?" Luffy asked. Ace blinked.

"The . . . what?"

"The giant mustache man!"

The repetition wasn't lessening Ace's confusion. "Luffy, are you talking about Whitebeard?" It was the only slightly logical conclusion he could come up with.

"Yup."

Ace stared at his younger brother for a few seconds before smirking. "You've got a thing for bad nicknames, don't you?"

"He does," Nami interjected before Luffy could respond. She then glanced at Luffy. "Honestly, I think 'Torao' just wants you to stop calling him that."

Luffy shrugged, which made Ace think that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Whoever this "Torao" was, Ace felt bad for him.

"Either way, Ace," Robin said smoothly, "you have been here for quite some time. Is there anything you still need to do tonight? I'm sure Luffy would be happy to have you stay overnight here if not."

Ace could practically see the sparkles forming in Luffy's eyes at the idea. He smiled softly at the sight, and then the full import of Robin's words hit him, making him stiffen. "What time is it?" Ace asked urgently. Sanji checked the flickering digital clock on the far wall, waiting a moment for it to show the time before the display went dark.

"A little after ten," he said. Ace's face went white.

"Shit, he's gonna kill me."

"Who?" asked Usopp with a frown.

Zoro raised one eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

Ace hastened to clarify upon seeing their faces. "No, exaggeration - the guy who helped me out gave me a curfew just in case I got into trouble so he'd know to come after me."

"Smart," Nami muttered. Ace chose not to think about the implications of her sidelong glance at Luffy.

"I'll walk you back!" Luffy declared.

"I can do it on my own," Ace began, but then stopped. He . . . well, he really wouldn't mind walking with Luffy. And maybe talking more would jog his memory. Plus, none of Luffy's friends seemed put off by the idea. Apparently something like this was perfectly normal for them if the indulgent smiles on their faces were anything to go by. If that was the case . . . "Actually, Luffy, I'd appreciate directions." Ace grinned and tapped his temple. "Still don't have the city in my head yet."

Usopp coughed and, for whatever reason, Zoro shot him a dark look.

Luffy smiled. "Great! Let's go!"

He pulled Ace out before the older man could even say a proper goodbye to the others.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After getting only slightly lost, Ace and Luffy finally made it to Sabo's apartment. They hadn't talked about that much on the way over, just mindless things that Ace could respond to without even thinking. Several times he'd said things only to reflect back on them a moment later and wonder why he'd said them. Going by Luffy's incessant grinning, however, he was saying the right stuff.

Breezing through the lobby and riding up the elevator in less than a minute, Ace turned to Luffy. "Okay, whatever you do, don't tell this guy who you are. I don't know what he thinks of gangs and all that, so just be careful."

Of course, the news of Blackbeard's plans for Whitebeard and the revolutionaries was still spinning around in Ace's brain. Sabo was a revolutionary; should Ace tell him? Or should he wait until he was back with Whitebeard and just let the gang leader handle it?

Luffy smiled at him, causing Ace to push those thoughts aside for now. "Sure!"

Ace, reasonably sure his message had gotten through in some capacity, stepped out of the elevator and guided Luffy down the hall until he reached Sabo's door. He pulled out a key and opened the door, stepping through, Luffy right behind him. Ace's eyes immediately fell on Sabo, who was putting on his jacket. Ace cleared his throat and Sabo turned, a pleased smile already stretching across his lips.

"Good, you're back! I was just about to go out and look for you. Listen, I think the Whitebeard gang would be very interested in seeing y - who is that?" In an instant, Sabo's demeanor went from warm and excited to cold and unreadable. Ace held his hands up reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Sabo. Luffy's nice. I kind of passed out in the street and he and his friends took care of me. Listen, apparently he's my -"

"Sabo?"

Ace cut himself off, whirling on Luffy, who was staring at Sabo with a wide-eyed yet vacant look. He'd said Sabo's name so strangely, like -

 _But how does he even know Sabo's name? I never told him._

Sabo was just as confused and far more wary. "Who are you?"

"You - you're alive too?"

Well, that statement stabbed Ace right through the chest. _What the hell is going on?_

Sabo looked even more baffled and now that confusion was clear in his expression. "Alive? Of course I am. Who are you?"

Luffy suddenly shot forward, enveloping Sabo in a hug so quickly that the taller man didn't even have the time to evade him. Ace watched with disbelieving eyes as Luffy's arms wrapped around Sabo and then wrapped around him _again_ , displaying a length and flexibility that no human arm should have had.

Ace's eyes met Sabo's, both of them about to say _what's going on -_

And then he heard Luffy sob, saw the boy's whole body shake as he clung to Sabo for dear life just as he had done with Ace and suddenly Ace's eyes widened because familiarity was rushing up inside of him and his head was pulsing and the room was spinning and he knew -

* * *

"Ace?"

The voice was echoing, filtered through his consciousness until it finally registered as his name, and blearily Ace responded, cracking his eyes open and wincing when light hit his pupils and made his head throb painfully.

 _"Hey, Ace! I wanna color!"_

 _"Idiot. You have to wait; the old hag isn't back from her supply trip yet."_

Ace blinked away the phantom boy that had been leaning over him and focused on the actual person instead. "L - Luffy?"

 _"C'mon, Ace! Pleeeaaaase?"_

 _"Just wait for her!"_

"Yeah! Are you finally awake? You fell asleep for so long."

Ace squinted his eyes, the world still not quite coming into focus. He kept seeing flashes of a smaller boy standing in front of him, of old walls and rooms so familiar they made him ache with longing. "I'm - yeah, I'm awake."

 _"Do you smell that?"_

 _"Smell what, Ace?"_

 _"That. The - the smoke."_

"That's good. You need to eat. Sabo made lots of meat!"

 _"Were you making anything? Meat? I want meat."_

 _"No, I wasn't."_

"Ace?"

But Ace wasn't listening anymore; Luffy's words had faded out after Sabo's name and the rest had just bounced around in Ace's skull. His unfocused gaze drifted to the ceiling, and with no warning his memories dragged him back under.

* * *

 _"Luffy, check the window," Ace ordered, not wanting the nine-year-old to be too close to the door. Luffy nodded and bounded over to the only window in the second-story room while Ace strode to the door. He carefully placed the back of his hand against the worn wood and hissed in pain, pulling it away quickly when he felt the heat behind it._

 _His eyes went to above the door, where thin tendrils of smoke were snaking to the ceiling from the cracks in the frame._

No.

 _He looked back to Luffy, who was still looking out the window._

This can't be happening.

 _The room was getting warmer by the second and Ace cursed himself for not noticing earlier._

This cannot be happening.

 _But it was. Ace took a deep breath and walked as calmly as he could over to Luffy. "Hey, Luffy, we're going to go outside, okay?"_

 _Luffy glanced back at Ace. "Sabo's out there."_

 _"Sabo's_ what _?"_

 _Ace nearly shoved Luffy aside as he struggled to see past the smoke drifting up from the lower floor of the orphanage. His gaze landed on the small figure just barely visible at the end of the orphanage's gravel driveway. He could pick out the top hat and blue clothes, and his heart clenched._

 _"What the hell is Sabo doing here?" Ace growled. He then saw the figures behind Sabo, saw that the blond boy was sprinting towards the orphanage, away from them. "Nobles?" He narrowed his eyes. "Police? Did that idiot run away again?" Ace's hands clenched into fists._

 _"Ace?"_

 _Realizing that Luffy was still there and that he couldn't ignore the kid in a situation like this, Ace turned to Luffy. "We're going outside. I'm gonna open the window, okay?"_

 _Luffy's brows knit with confusion. "But that window doesn't open."_

 _Ace's heart skipped a beat and he berated himself again. Of course. This was the window that he and Luffy had kept sneaking out of when they were younger, and Dadan had replaced it with one that didn't open - and one made of very tough glass, too, just to "ensure their safety."_

This can't be happening.

 _"Shit, right. Okay, let me think."_

 _The door to the hallway wasn't an option. The fire had probably started in the kitchen, which was almost directly below their room, so trying to break through the floor was also impossible. Ace would break before the window did, but..._

 _"Ace, the floor is cracking." Luffy's voice wobbled with something between worry and fear. For all the Luffy saw the world simply, even he at his young age could recognize the rapidly increasing danger. Ace cursed again and pulled Luffy away from the window, where the cracks in the wood floor were heading. The twelve-year-old could feel his heart hammering in his chest and the sweat making his clothes and hair stick to his skin, but he put on the bravest face he could while sections of the floor crumbled with horrific crashing noises that sent billows of choking smoke into the room. A wave of heat that pushed Ace's hair back quickly followed. Flames licked the edges of the new holes and Ace and Luffy had no choice but to back into the far corner of the room or risk falling into the burning floor below._

 _Both boys were coughing but Ace forced Luffy's shirt off him and then wrapped it around the younger boy's head like an impromptu breathing mask. It wouldn't do much, of course, but hopefully it would do enough. Ace sloppily did the same with his own, blinking away the tears brimming in his eyes._

 _His hands shook and he nearly dropped the shirt before putting it over his mouth. His lungs ached. All he could focus on were the flames still expanding throughout the room, emerging from the holes in the floor and consuming the rest of the old wooden boards with terrifying speed._

 _They were already cut off from the window and the door. Ace squeezed Luffy's hand, his eyes desperately darting around the room, searching for something, anything that could help them escape, but the air was hazy and the smoke was thick and he could barely see the opposite wall at all -_

This is really happening.

 _Ace squeezed even tighter and Luffy whimpered, seemingly stuck between backing behind Ace and trying to shield him from at least some of the blistering heat._

 _"ACE!"_

 _There! Someone through the smoke - Sabo?_

 _"ACE, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"_

 _"Ye -" Ace's words dissolved into coughing and Luffy stepped forward._

 _"SABO!"_

 _"LUFFY? IS ACE OKAY?"_

 _"I'M FINE!" Ace grimaced, his throat burning. Well, maybe not fine. Alive, though. Hot. Chills wracked his body but they couldn't do anything to stop the incessant heat that rolled over him._

 _"YOU NEED TO RUN OVER HERE! THERE'S A WAY OUT!" Sabo shouted, his words fading in and out over the roar of the flames that were_ still growing _. Ace froze up._

No way, I can't do that. The fire -

 _"ACE! COME ON, HURRY!"_

 _"Ace?"_

 _The freckled boy looked down at Luffy with a blank gaze, his emotions so wild and numerous that his face couldn't express them all. Then he squeezed Luffy's hand, desperate resolve filling him. They would survive; he'd been looking for a way out and Sabo was giving him one. He had to take it._

 _They. Would. Survive._

 _He would have to run whether he wanted to or not. If not for himself, then for Luffy. If he didn't, both of them would die._

 _"OKAY, WE'RE COMING!" Ace shouted as best he could. He thought he saw Sabo wave in acknowledgement and glanced at Luffy. "It's not hot," he said. Luffy stared. "It's. Not. Hot," Ace repeated. "No matter what your body tells you, it's not hot and you need to keep running." Luffy nodded, tears brimming in his eyes. Ace didn't know whether the smoke or emotions were the cause and he couldn't bring himself to care; adrenaline was flooding his veins and his focus narrowed to the flames that blocked his path to Sabo._

 _There were a few spots with fewer flames, spots where the wood wasn't as old and dry and flammable. They would burn, but Ace and Luffy would be able to make it through._

 _"Ready?" Ace asked. Luffy nodded._

 _Ace took as deep a breath as he dared with the smoke clogging the air and then took off at a sprint, keeping a firm grip on Luffy's hand. He weaved in and out of patches of fire, gritting his teeth against the agony that ripped up his legs, against the burns that blistered his skin. He was coughing almost continuously, his lungs rejecting every mouthful of air he sucked in._

Come on.

 _Luffy was lagging, his smaller body unable to handle the heat and strain. Ace tightened his grip on Luffy's arm and pulled the boy closer, slinging him over his shoulder and awkwardly stumbling a few steps, nearly dropping both of them into a hole._

 _Even as he backed away and moved on, Luffy's extra weight only making it more difficult to move, Ace couldn't get the mental image of the hellish flames that had devoured the kitchen out of his head._

 _"YOU'RE ALMOST HERE. DON'T STOP, ACE!"_

I can't -

 _Ace gasped, staggered. He couldn't breathe right._

 _"ACE!"_

 _Sabo was screaming his name. Ace tried to set his jaw but ended up biting his tongue instead. The new pain focused his mind while the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth._

We will survive.

 _He put one foot in front of the other._

We. Will. Survive.

 _He could feel the floorboards bending and warping under the heat and his weight._

It's not hot.

 _His skin felt as though it was melting off._

It's not hot!

 _And then, quite abruptly, he ran into something. Someone. Ace fell, hitting the floor hard, but when he glanced up he saw a familiar face staring at him._

 _"Sa -" he coughed, "Sabo?"_

 _The blond nodded, a handkerchief wrapped around his nose and mouth. "We gotta go. The nobles have blocked the front, but I'm pretty sure we can still sneak out the back. The fire hasn't spread there as much."_

 _Ace managed a nod around the unidentifiable emotion that squeezed his chest. He'd thought that he would never see Sabo again after the noble family the blond had run away from had tracked him to the orphanage and dragged him away._

 _"Can you stand?" Sabo asked, helping Ace to his feet. Ace nodded and then reached for Luffy, but Sabo stopped him. "I'll get Luffy," he said after coughing. "You lead."_

 _Ace nodded and forced himself to move forward, knowing that his legs were going to just fall off when this was all over but not caring because he just had to survive._

It's not hot.

 _He staggered down the back steps, sticking to the walls and holding the railing even though it burned him because it was either that or falling and he wouldn't be able to get up again if he fell. He could hear Sabo's labored breathing, was keenly aware of the other boy following in his footsteps and so he tried to stick to the sturdiest parts._

 _They made it to the back hallway after almost half a minute of struggling down the stairs and then madly dashing through what had been the playroom but was now just a raging inferno filled with the smell of burning plastic. Ace could hardly smell anything other than smoke and something even worse - burning rubber._

I should've carried Luffy from the start.

 _But it was too late to fix that now and the youngest boy had his mouth set and hadn't complained even once despite the fact that his legs were clearly burned badly._

 _They were almost at the backdoor. The frame had warped but Ace knew he could kick it out, he had at least that much strength left. A thought struck Ace, and he turned to look back at Sabo, who was following a few steps behind, still holding Luffy bridal-style in his arms._

 _"Sabo, why -"_

 _It happened so quickly. One second Sabo was standing there with Luffy cradled in his arms, his bright eyes focused on Ace. The next there was only Luffy clawing at the broken wood planks that made up the floor and a swinging wooden beam where Sabo had been, one end scorched from where the fire had burned it away from the ceiling. Then that too was gone, fallen into the basement through the hole that Sabo had inadvertently created as the fire burned away the last of its support._

 _Ace could only stare, his expression empty with shock and his body frozen._

 _He couldn't reconcile the new picture with the one he'd just seen, couldn't process that Sabo had just disappeared, that Sabo had just been knocked through the floor and was gone and -_

 _"Ace!" Luffy cried, his scrabbling hands losing purchase on the wooden planks. He slid back, his feet already dangling in open air. Ace snapped back to reality and dove forward, reaching for Luffy and feeling his muscles straining. Fingers outstretched, he saw the fear in Luffy's eyes as the boy lost his grip entirely and began to fall. But Ace let out a wordless cry of determination and his shoulder wrenched with agony as his hand fastened around Luffy's wrist and the boy swung freely beneath Ace, his weight making Ace's shoulder burn with pain. Broken planks dug into Ace's side as he hauled Luffy up, his face white with strain._

 _The two boys scrambled away from the hole but then Ace stopped and went back towards it, heedless of the flaming pieces of wood falling around him and the increasingly loud groans from the entire building._

 _"SABO!" He screamed, his throat raw and his voice hoarse. "SABO!"_

 _There was no answer. Ace just kept screaming Sabo's name, hoping beyond hope that Sabo would somehow hear him, that he would answer that he was okay, that he'd find some way out -_

 _Everything faded to a dull roar in the back of Ace's mind. He could only focus on that hole in the floor, at the smoke pouring out from within it, at the flames slowly engulfing it even as Luffy dragged him away, pleading with tear-filled eyes for Ace to keep going, to live._

 _Somehow Luffy got the door open and pulled Ace outside with frantic movements as the second floor collapsed entirely and fell through the first with a noise so loud it drowned out Ace's thoughts entirely. Then there was grass underfoot and clean air in his lungs and sunlight but Ace couldn't tear his eyes away from the burning orphanage, couldn't look anywhere else but at the place he'd grown up, the place he'd lived in for the past twelve years, the place he'd met Sabo and Luffy, the place Sabo had just -_

 _The building let out another belch of smoke and shuddered before the middle collapsed. Ace knew what that meant, knew the basement ceiling had collapsed, and he cried out Sabo's name again and again and again and again over and over and over even though he knew it was hopeless because there was no way Sabo could have survived that and_ oh god Sabo you're -

 _And Luffy was suddenly dragging him away because Ace had started sprinting back towards the building at some point without even knowing, driven by the insane urge to dig Sabo out of the rubble when they both knew that that was an impossible dream. Ace heard Luffy's choked-out pleas and staggered to a stop but his heart was still pounding and his blood roaring and his head throbbing and his eyes watering and suddenly he was on his knees, his body shutting down as the pain he'd blocked out before came screaming back with a vengeance. Tears streaked down his face and all he could do was sob Sabo's name as he clutched Luffy's hand in his own. Luffy was sobbing too, his hiccuping cries carrying over the clearing._

 _Ace sniffled, his whole body quaking, and darkness began to encroach on the edges of his vision. Every blade of grass brushing gently against his legs set his skin aflame all over again. He squeezed Luffy's hand to make sure that the boy was still there, that he hadn't suddenly disappeared when Ace had looked away. Time ticked away with each puff of smoke and cough, but Ace never looked away from the orphanage._

 _Ace could barely see anything through the haze over his vision but still he forced himself to stay conscious, one hand reaching out pathetically to the burning house where Sabo still was, where Sabo had tried to save him and paid for it, the other hand still clinging to Luffy with the strength of the desperate._

 _A person brushed past Ace but the boy only had time to register a dark green cloak and spiked black hair before unconsciousness claimed him._

* * *

 _Ace's eyes cracked open. His whole body hurt, his legs and arms especially. Every breath made his chest burn with dull fire. But, most importantly, he was alive. Even though his body was just a vessel for pain and the harsh lights above him hurt his eyes, he was alive. His memory of what had happened was hazy, and he squinted, trying to make the blurry ceiling above him come into focus. When that only succeeded in making his head hurt, Ace looked away, turning his head to the right in an attempt to see the rest of the room._

 _His eyes landed squarely on the sleeping face of Luffy, and Ace's breath got stuck somewhere between his lungs and throat._

 _Luffy looked far too pale. A mask covered his nose and mouth and suddenly the beeping made sense; a machine was tracking Luffy's heartbeat (another was by Ace, now that he was listening for the rhythmic noises) and more monitors were placed around the otherwise stark room. Luffy's skin looked like white parchment stretched over a too-big frame. His veins stood out starkly, his eyes sunken in his skull._

 _"Luffy…" Ace whispered, unable to say anything else. He looked terrible, but he was alive. Ace felt a heavy weight on his shoulders ease just a little and wondered why -_

Sabo.

 _Ace physically flinched as the memories of what had happened filled his mind's eye. Tears brimmed in his eyes and streaked down his face while his hands fisted in the white sheets that covered him. Ace mourned quietly, unable to speak the words he wanted to say._

 _He couldn't get that last half a second out of his head._

 _Sabo's eyes, wide and so incredibly bright, meeting his own with an odd edge of acceptance twisting his lips into that wry half-smile that made him look far older than he was, the look he only pulled out when Luffy was scared, like he was trying to be comforting but didn't quite know how. His top hat askew on his head, short curls of blond hair peeking out from underneath. His clothes rumpled and burned and full of soot and dirt and ash but still looking nicer than anything Ace had ever worn._

 _But his eyes. They stayed with Ace, the main piece in the horrible puzzle. They were the eyes of a boy who knew what was coming._

 _He'd seen it. He'd seen that beam coming a second before it hit._

 _And in that second, Sabo had done the only thing he could: he'd thrown Luffy out of the way of danger._

 _In his last moments, Sabo had chosen to save Luffy._

 _Ace blinked and refocused on the current Luffy, who was still unconscious and breathing shallowly. He stared at the younger boy for a few moments, at the boy he had sworn brotherhood with, at the boy that had saved Ace's life when Ace had stopped caring enough to run._

 _Ace swallowed. "I'll protect you," he whispered, the words a vow to himself and the world. "I'll protect you, Luffy."_

Watch us, Sabo. We'll survive.

 _The sound of a door opening had Ace closing his mouth and switching his gaze to an accusing glare at whoever had just entered. The defensiveness in the look sputtered a little when he saw that the boy he was glaring at couldn't have been much older than he was; a couple of years at most._

 _"Ah, you're awake," the teenager said, the dark circles under his eyes resembling bruises. Ace couldn't help staring; he hadn't been expecting this. "The painkillers should be numbing most of the pain, though my supply is limited so your brother is getting most of them."_

 _"That's fine," Ace managed, his voice coming out in a painful-sounding wheeze. The teenager blinked._

 _"Try not to speak. Your respiratory system sustained damage from smoke inhalation and is still recovering. Before you try to ask, a large portion of your legs, arms, and chest sustained burns ranging from mild to severe. Fortunately, I was able to salvage most of the skin, though you will have some mild scarring on your legs and arms that will likely fade with time. You are confined to bed rest for another three days, and then we will see how your condition has improved."_

 _Ace blinked, most of the information the old boy had said going in one ear and out the other. He jerked his head in Luffy's direction, mouthing his younger brother's name. The teen raised an eyebrow, but his expression quickly returned to neutrality._

 _"Your companion's burns were far less severe, but the damage from smoke inhalation was far worse. He would have died without medical attention. I have him in a drug-induced coma at the moment so that his body can heal. He will likely be out for at least another four or five days."_

 _Ace bit his lip._

 _"You've already been out for two."_

 _Ace swallowed and then nodded in acknowledgement, awkwardly trying to communicate both his thanks and another question. The teen stared for a moment, his golden eyes piercing, and then realization seemed to dawn on him._

 _"Right. My name is Law Trafalgar. I am a...practitioner of various medicinal arts. You may call me Law for the sake of your limited speaking ability."_

 _"W-why?" Ace whispered. Law's brows lowered and then he sighed._

 _"Curiosity, I suppose. It is not often that I stumble across a young boy wailing in the forest while dragging an older boy by the shoulders. After realizing the circumstances, I decided to assist you two on a whim." Law shrugged, his expression not giving away anything. "I have very little to do in my free time."_

 _The reasons fell flat but Ace didn't have the energy to press. Just as he was drifting off again, Law said, "I_ am _charging you for this, by the way."_

* * *

 _The next few weeks passed in a blur of recovery and breakthroughs in conversation with Law, with Luffy gradually forcing the rather introverted teen to open up (usually whether he wanted to or not). Ace and Luffy spent most of their time together and very little time apart, even choosing to sleep in the same bed once Law had declared that doing so would not kill them._

 _They had mourned Sabo together for two days; after that, Ace had bonked Luffy on the head and said that Sabo wouldn't have wanted them to keep moping around for so long, and so Luffy had returned to his normal self with impressive speed._

 _Perhaps "normal" wasn't the best word. He was certainly upbeat again, and his grin was just as infectious as it had been, but now he carried himself with a certain kind of gravity that only came from going through a difficult experience. He was only nine but the look in his eyes matched the one Ace had seen in Law's when the teen wasn't keeping up his guard._

 _When they were healed, Law presented them with the bill. The numbers had nearly made Ace faint then and there, but Law had then showed him a list of odds-and-ends jobs in the city that Ace and Luffy could take on to amass money and eventually pay Law back. The two boys had agreed and set off into the streets to get to work._

 _At first, city life had seemed like a never ending punch to the face. But Ace had adjusted, learning how the streets worked, which places to avoid, and where to go when things went to hell. He found allies in the people he helped out, and though he made some enemies along the way, he managed to scrape together enough to afford a small little apartment in a shoddy (but not too dangerous) part of town._

 _From there, he and Luffy had trained each other, determined to grow strong so that they wouldn't be stuck in a situation like what had happened with Sabo. They trained to protect each other, and though Ace won every fight, Luffy's punches still left bruises._

 _At some point, Ace stumbled across a strange fruit on a job. He'd eaten it without thinking since he hadn't had enough money for food in a month, and though the thing had tasted terrible, it had filled Ace's stomach. When he discovered the aftereffects, he'd practiced them until he could control them perfectly because he never wanted to scare Luffy with his powers._

 _He never told Luffy about the way he'd felt the fire seething under his skin those first few weeks, about the way he'd flinched away from the licks of flames he could summon on his skin, about the way he trembled at the mere idea of turning into fire, of becoming the thing that had destroyed his life. But Ace had persevered, Luffy's best interests always on his mind because he knew that if Luffy saw that Ace was fire, that Ace could control fire, then maybe he could ease his fear of flames as well._

 _Things had changed rapidly when Luffy stumbled across a man called Red Haired Shanks while working as a busboy at a local bar. The man had taken an instant interest in Luffy and had even given Luffy his hat, telling Luffy to hang onto it._

 _Ace had been suspicious at first, and those suspicions hadn't faded until Shanks had set them up in a better apartment in a slightly better neighborhood, until he'd found out that Shanks was one of the four most powerful gang leaders in the city, until he'd seen the way that Luffy's eyes glowed whenever he talked about him, until he'd talked to Shanks and seen the way the man's eyes burned at the mere mention of harm to Luffy._

 _From then on, things were hazy, just years of growth and change but with the most important things remaining constant. Law popped up again every now and then, but each time he was more withdrawn, and each time he stayed for shorter and shorter periods. But Ace now recognized the loneliness and determination that burned in equal measure in Law's eyes and so he pushed the boundaries as much as he was able, and when Law had tried to say goodbye Ace had blocked his path and Luffy had pulled him back and convinced him to stay._

 _There were smiles and laughter and screams and tears, moments Ace wished hadn't happened and other times that Ace wouldn't trade the world for._

 _But then the memories stopped entirely, stopped the day when a person bumped into Ace on the sidewalk and offered a proposition that left Ace reeling. The memories then shifted into a white haze, a voice calling out,_

 _"Ace. Ace._ Ace!"

* * *

Ace squinted and muttered, "Too bright."

His head was pounding and his mouth was dry, but the pain was fading quickly and by the time his eyes adjusted to the light the pain in his skull was nothing more than a faint throbbing.

"Thank god you're finally awake. With the way you've been screaming - well, we weren't sure you'd be waking up anytime soon. You were running one hell of a fever, you know."

Ace blinked and tried to focus on the person sitting next to him. He registered that he was lying down on the couch, knew that he was in Sabo's place, but suddenly that name had so many more connections and meanings than it used to.

"Sabo?" Ace whispered. He levered himself up, sitting up so he could look the blond in the eyes. "Is that - is - are you really Sabo?"

The blond smiled sadly, toying with the top hat in his hands without really looking at it. "Yeah, I am. It's good to see that you got your memory back."

Ace moved without thinking. He stood and pulled Sabo up into a hug so tight he could feel the blond's breathing shudder. The top hat fell from Sabo's fingers, landing on the seat of the chair Sabo had been on. Ace squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears leaking out, and dragged in a breath.

"Hell, Sabo," he whispered. "Fucking hell."

He heard Sabo sniffle, felt the blond return the hug with equal strength. "Hell, Ace," Sabo answered in an uneven voice. "Fucking hell."

It took a long time for Ace to be able to let go and step back and really look at his brother - the brother he'd thought dead but wasn't. He looked into Sabo's eyes and Sabo looked into his and then both young men were smiling and chuckling about some joke neither really understood.

"It's good to see you again," Ace managed after a few seconds. Sabo nodded.

"Yeah. It - it really is."

They stared at each other for a little while longer before Ace suddenly started. "Luffy! Where's Luffy?"

Sabo blinked. "Uh...I think - he was just here, I swear."

"You know you can't let him wander! I'll take the kitchen, you get -"

"Everywhere else?" Sabo guessed dryly. "You're not even subtle, Ace. At least that hasn't changed."

Ace's face went red. "Sh-shut up, I haven't eaten in hours. And now I don't feel as bad about mooching off you."

"I should charge you for this," Sabo muttered as they separated. Ace pretended not to have heard and jogged towards the kitchen, his mind still whirling. Memories and feelings and emotions were gradually settling into their proper places, but it still felt as though someone had taken a blender to his brain. At least he had Luffy - as long as he focused on Luffy (and Sabo), he could keep his head on straight.

"Luffy!" Ace called as he walked into the kitchen. "Luffy!"

An odd noise met his ears and Ace glanced at the refrigerator, immediately noticing that it was open and that a straw hat was peeking out from over the door. Ace strode over and yanked the door all the way open, revealing Luffy - as well as the three ribs he had stuffed simultaneously into his mouth. Ace's eyebrow twitched. Luffy's face went pale.

"You dolt. Sabo and I were going to reheat those for dinner!" Ace whacked Luffy upside the head and the ribs went flying out of Luffy's mouth, the sauce splattering all over the floor while the half-eaten pieces of meat and bone skidded to a stop at Sabo's feet.

The blond, who had been walking into the room, stopped and looked up at Ace. "I had a feeling that he wouldn't be anywhere else but here."

But Luffy wasn't really paying attention to Sabo - he was staring at Ace, his mouth still hanging partially open.

"Luffy?" Ace asked, waving a hand in front of his brother's face. "Are you okay?"

"You got your brain back," Luffy said.

"I really can't tell whether that was a statement or a question," Ace replied, "but if it was a question, yes. And are you talking about my memories when you say my brain? Actually, I'm just going to assume that's a yes," he added before Luffy could reply.

Luffy's dumbstruck look quickly morphed into a massive smile. "Ace!" And then he'd glomped onto Ace, burying his face in his older brother's chest while Ace spun and stepped back to avoid falling. He nearly slipped on a patch of sauce, but somehow kept his balance. "You're back!" Luffy's words were muffled, but Ace heard them clearly. A pang of sadness at the fact that he'd been gone in the first place went through Ace's chest and he gently returned Luffy's hug.

"I am, Lu. I'm back." He looked up, seeing Sabo staring at them with pride and something else in his eyes. "For good this time." Sabo nodded, silently saying the same thing.

And then Ace remembered that Luffy had been raiding the fridge. And that Luffy had been eating very saucy ribs. And that the sauce had spread onto Luffy's face. Which was now buried in Ace's favorite shirt.

"Gah!"

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"I need to get into contact with Whitebeard," Ace said. "He's the next step - I'm sure he knows everything that I haven't remembered yet." Sabo nodded.

"Of course. Unfortunately, Whitebeard seems to have moved position - possibly as a result of your supposed death. I don't have any intel on his new location yet. If you give me a few days, I can probably find it."

"Weren't the revolutionaries keeping tabs on him?" Ace asked. Sabo shrugged.

"If they were, I was only vaguely informed about it. I know a lot, but there are some tasks they don't deem important enough to give me detailed reports about."

"Makes sense. So I need to find him."

"If you just wait -"

"Have I ever been one for patience?"

"Touché," Sabo conceded. Both young men took a second to revel in the fact that they could now say things like that and mean them before returning to the task at hand. "I'll look around. With my network, I'll likely find him before you do."

"Maybe," Ace replied. He thought about the people he'd been in contact with lately - Kid, Luffy, and Law - and mused that maybe his "network" wasn't half bad. Then again, he wanted to punch Law in the face more than he wanted to ask the guy questions. But that was a matter for another time.

"Why don't you just go to Shanks?" Luffy asked. Ace glanced at him, one eyebrow going up. Luffy had just been playing around with a 3D puzzle the entire discussion while sitting upside-down on the couch. Neither Ace nor Sabo had expected him to take any real interest in the discussion. Upon seeing their gazes, Luffy momentarily stopped fiddling with the puzzle. "Shanks would know, wouldn't he? He and the mustache guy drink sometimes."

Understanding dawned on Ace. "Right, you sometimes work at the bar that Shanks hangs out at."

"Yeah."

"That would probably work," Sabo mused. "You would think that the most powerful men in the city would keep tabs on each other to make sure they're not threats to each other."

"They're drinking buddies," Luffy supplied. Sabo sighed.

"Right. The more powerful, the less logical."

"Oh, by the way," Ace said, turning to Luffy. "Do you know what happened to Dadan?"

Luffy stared for a few seconds. "She's still in the orphanage," he said. "I got Nami to send her stuff every now and then. You were doing that too, remember?"

Ace searched his memories. Sure enough, he could recall sending Dadan money and random gifts over the years. "Right, right. My head still isn't quite in order yet."

"It's understandable," Sabo said. Ace looked at him.

"Wait, I don't remember seeing you and Luffy hug or whatever. Did I miss it?"

"Yep," Luffy said, popping the "p" while his attention drifted back to his puzzle.

"I woke up before you did," Sabo explained. "According to Luffy, we both passed out almost simultaneously. Luffy and his little doctor friend took care of us - the doc left after a day or two - but I woke up sooner than you. I think because -" Sabo's mouth screwed into a frown, "because I had less to remember."

Ace immediately felt slightly guilty for asking but brushed the feeling aside, reminding himself that Sabo had already been working through it. Ace didn't need to press the issue. He could ask Sabo for the details of his memory loss later. "Okay then. Well, when this is all over, we're having some quality family time."

"I'm interested in seeing what ridiculous plan you come up with," Sabo said with a grin. "Though I get the feeling you'll make me help."

"You know me so well."

* * *

"So this is the place?" Ace stared at the bar tucked between two larger buildings, its worn brick exterior at odds with the lacquered wooden sign over the door that named the bar. He glanced at Sabo, absently tugging on the collar of his red button-down. He'd wanted to keep wearing his favorite shirt - a red t-shirt that he'd been debating cutting the sleeves off of - but Luffy's sauce stains had ruined that plan. Now he was stuck with the new red shirt, black shorts, and his usual boots. "Is it?" He was pretty sure it was, but he wanted to be absolutely positive.

"Don't look at me," Sabo replied easily, deferring to Luffy. The youngest simply bounded ahead, throwing open the door as though he owned the place - yet, somehow, without the same kind of arrogance.

"SHANKS!" Luffy cried as he entered. Ace and Sabo winced at his volume but stepped inside as well. The sounds and smells of the bar washed over the two as the door closed; the smell of alcohol drifted through the air among the hubbub of conversation that a shout or cry occasionally punctuated.

Luffy weaved through the haphazardly-placed tables with the deceptive ease of long practice. Ace and Sabo followed as best they could, knowing that Luffy had a destination but having no clue where that destination was. The low lighting made it impossible to look ahead without risking running into the corner of a table.

"Shanks!"

"Should he really be yelling his name like that?" Sabo muttered to Ace. "You would think Shanks wouldn't like that in such a public place."

"It's fine," Ace said, dredging up memories of coming to this bar with Luffy to work and chat with the red-haired man. "Shanks is pretty relaxed."

Sabo looked unconvinced but didn't argue.

"Ah, Luffy! What brings you here all of a sudden?"

The new voice was loud, boisterous, and happy. Ace picked up his pace, nearly ran into someone, apologized, and finally caught up to Luffy, Sabo right on his heels.

"Shanks, you'll never guess what happened!" Luffy was saying while rocking back and forth on his heels. Ace automatically put a hand on Luffy's shoulder.

"Let's not give the poor old man a headache from having to watch you, yeah?" He suggested, only then turning his attention to Shanks. Inwardly, he blanched, realizing that he'd just called one of the most powerful men in the city "the poor old man". Then he remembered that he did that all the time and relaxed. Slightly.

"Luffy, who's your new friend?" The man at the table asked, leaning to one side slightly so he could better see Ace behind Luffy.

Ace took in the familiar red hair, bright eyes, and memorable trio of scars over the man's left eye, and then smiled. "Hey, Shanks. It's been a while. Sorry I haven't been able to stop b-"

"Ace?" Shanks whispered, standing so abruptly that his chair teetered dangerously before the man sitting behind him stopped it from falling. "Is that you, Ace?"

"Idiot," Sabo muttered. "People think you're dead, remember?"

 _Whoops._

Ace hesitated for a second and then pushed ahead. "Yeah, Shanks, it's me," Ace said, stepping forward so the light hit him better. "It's a long story, but I'm not dead. Just took me way too long to recover."

Shanks stared for another two seconds before his shoulders sagged with relief. "You boys are going to be the death of me one day." He sat back down in the chair that had been returned to its previous position and blew out a breath, his piercing gaze landing on Sabo. "So who's this kid? If he's another brother back from the dead, I -"

"He is, so I wouldn't finish that statement," Ace interrupted with a grin.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed at Shanks's gobsmacked expression. "He's Sabo! We thought he died in a fire but he's okay!"

"Not entirely 'okay'," Sabo said while touching the scar that spanned over nearly half his face, covering his left eye. That eye's iris had faded to a washed-out blue color. "But alive, at least," he added, finishing with a smile upon seeing the worry in Luffy and Ace's expressions.

"You boys…" Shanks muttered. Then he collected himself, looking Ace in the eyes. "So, what is it you want?"

Ace found himself paralyzed by the aura of authority Shanks held - an aura that became almost suffocating upon making eye contact - until his memories of the times he'd spent with Shanks allowed him to relax and feel at ease under the pressure.

"How did you know we want something?"

"You have that look in your eye," Shanks replied.

"Wha - look? What look?"

"You know, this one," Shanks said, scrunching up his features in a way clearly intended to mock Ace's serious expression. Ace scowled.

"Really?"

Sabo and Luffy laughed, Sabo squeezing out, "It's pretty accurate!" around giggles.

"Can it, you children," Ace said, one eyebrow twitching. "I do not make expressions like that."

Sabo just smirked.

"So, what'll it be?" Shanks said, dragging the conversation back to its actual topic.

"Information," Ace answered. "I need to know where Whitebeard is."

Shanks raised one eyebrow. "You don't know where he is?"

"He moved after I was attacked. I wasn't able to keep tabs on him while I was recovering."

"Allow me to clarify," Sabo said. "Ace here lost his memory, so even when he recovered enough to move around, he had no idea that he should have been searching for Whitebeard in the first place."

"I...see," Shanks said slowly. "I do know where he is now, though I haven't spoken to him in some time."

"That's fine," Ace said quickly.

Shanks grabbed a napkin and accepted a pen from the same man that had stopped his chair from falling - Benn Beckman, if Ace's memory served - and then scribbled out the address, handing it to Ace. Ace squinted at the letters, only barely holding back a comment on Shanks's ever-atrocious handwriting.

"Warehouse district," Sabo muttered, peering at the napkin over Ace's shoulder. "I know where that is. It's in one of the seedier parts of town, not somewhere I'd expected him to set up shop."

"That's probably why he did it," Ace pointed out. Sabo nodded.

While Ace and Sabo took a brief seat at a nearby table to discuss their plan of attack for talking to Whitebeard, Luffy and Shanks chatted. Ace watched the two interact for a few seconds, a fond smile twisting his lips.

"They're really something," he commented.

"Yeah," Sabo agreed.

"So, Sabo." Ace's voice dropped to a more serious tone that barely carried over the conversation around them. "What happened? I saw it - I saw what happened. I was sure you were - that you -" Ace's mouth twisted, "that you were dead."

Sabo looked down at his hands, a bitter smile on his face. "Honestly, I don't know. I remember going down the stairs, holding Luffy, and then it just...blurs. Something...hit me, I think, and I fell."

Ace nodded. "Yeah. Into the basement. And then the place collapsed."

Sabo reached up and touched the scar that covered his face. "I don't remember how I survived. When I woke up, I didn't remember anything. The thing that hit me must have taken my memories with it."

Ace thought for a moment. "There was someone else there. At the orphanage, I mean."

"I was being chased," Sabo pointed out. "They weren't fans of my plan to run away again."

"No, other than them." Ace frowned, casting his gaze to the ceiling for a brief moment. Then he snapped his fingers. "Do you know anyone that has black, spiky hair? Likes to wear dark capes?" Ace frowned. "Er, cloaks? Something like that?"

Sabo raised one eyebrow. "Spiky black hair? I would say Luffy, or..." Understanding dawned on Sabo's features. "Dragon. That must have been Dragon."

"Dragon? Like...the leader of the revolutionary army or whatever you call yourselves?"

"Yeah," Sabo said. "He's the one that saved me and then raised me. I wonder why he was there at the time, then."

"Coincidence?" Ace guessed. Sabo shrugged.

"Maybe. I can ask him about it later. Anyway, before you go talk to Whitebeard, we should find the place where you were attacked."

"Why?"

"Mostly because I'm curious," Sabo admitted. "But we might find something there that will help us."

"If you say so. Then we'll plan my grand entrance."

Sabo rolled his eyes. "You're incurable."

Ace grinned. "Have I ever claimed to be otherwise?"

The two chatted about nothing in particular for the next few minutes before Luffy bounced over. They said their goodbyes to Shanks and began to leave, but Shanks stopped Ace.

"Listen, Ace," Shanks said, his voice low and grave. "If you need anything, call. There's something coming, and I get the feeling you're going to need all the help you can get."

Ace nodded acknowledgement. "Thank you."

Shanks stared into Ace's eyes for another second before finding whatever he was looking for and stepping back. Then he grinned, no sign of his gravity from a second before remaining in his eyes. "Good luck!"

* * *

"You were spying on me?" Sabo asked, examining the small, first-floor apartment room that Ace had been attacked in. Ace shrugged, absently kicking at a loose floorboard. The room was empty and a thin layer of dust had begun to form over just about everything.

"I thought you might have been Sabo. I was...checking."

"I _am_ Sabo," Sabo pointed out.

"I didn't know that at the time."

"But you suspected?"

Ace sighed, turning to face Sabo. "Wanting to believe that you had somehow survived nearly drove me mad for days, Sabo," Ace said. "It hurt - physically _hurt_ \- to consider the idea. So when I heard that the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army was named Sabo - that he wielded a pipe - I had to see. I had to know."

"Did it help?" Sabo looked Ace right in the eyes. "To see me here, to know what I looked like?" Nevermind the fact that Ace had managed to track Sabo down, a feat in and of itself.

"Hard to say," Ace replied slowly, turning his attention back to his feet. He didn't remember much leading up to Blackbeard's assassination, but he remembered enough. Ace then frowned and crouched down, picking something up. "Does this look familiar to you?" He asked, holding up a broken black watch with a compass-styled face. Sabo shrugged.

"You would know more than me. It's yours?"

"I think so." Ace slipped it over his wrist and fastened it, turning his arm to see if the feeling of having it on changed anything. "Yeah, it is. Must've - yeah, there's blood on it." Ace took off the watch and dropped it into the blue pouch wrapped around his leg. He checked the room over again, trying to ignore the large patches of dried blood by the window and the trail that led out the door. He'd seen it walking in, but being in this room - it made his head and chest throb uncomfortably.

"Ace, look," Sabo said. The blond was crouched by the window, his hand up to the wrist between floorboards.

"What?" Ace asked, kneeling next to him. His eyes went wide as Sabo carefully pulled something out, holding it in cupped hands. "What is that?"

"A necklace, I think," Sabo said as he gingerly put it on the floor. The red beads bounced against each other and a few began rolling away before Ace grabbed them. His lips twisted upon seeing the darker red that speckled the beads, but the blood was long since dry and began flaking off at Ace's touch.

"That bastard," Ace muttered, gathering up the beads and string and stuffing that into his pouch as well. "Sabo, were there any other beads?"

"Not that I could see. Were you wearing that at the time of the attack?"

"Yeah, I think. It must've broken when he attacked me."

Sabo stared out the window for a few seconds before striding over to the large bloodstain in front of it. "So, you were here, staring out the window - presumably at the front door. Why were you on the first floor, again?"

"Uh…" Ace looked at the ceiling. "I think you'd just walked in or out. Can't remember very well."

"Not surprising. So, you were here -" Sabo stood in front of the window, staring out. "Blackbeard would have been...here, maybe?" He continued, shifting to a position slightly behind him and to the right. Ace raised one eyebrow.

"The blood splatter?"

"Yes," Sabo said. "If I'm reading this right - which I'm probably not, given how old this evidence is - Blackbeard took a large object, likely a knife, and ran you through with it while you had your back turned. That would cause the blood to splatter like that...but…"

"It's not quite right," Ace muttered. "I think - I turned, maybe. Could be how I survived; he was probably aiming for something vital."

"Probably," Sabo murmured, his eyes hard as he took in the room as a whole. "So, Blackbeard stabs you and removes the knife. You, likely in shock, stagger forward a step, one hand holding the injury and the other bracing you against the windowsill -" Sabo imitates the hypothetical situation as he talks, "but shock will rob you of your strength, probably preventing you from fully using your power, and you slide down, the blood from your back creating this streak here…"

Ace put one hand to his abdomen, wincing as nausea rumbled his stomach. "Sabo…"

"One second. I can do the rest in my head, don't worry."

Ace watched as Sabo paced around the room, muttering something under his breath. Then the blond young man abruptly stopped. "I got it. Blackbeard is right handed, prefers bladed weapons in close combat, and was wary enough of your power to stab you from behind but not wary enough to check whether you had lived or not. He also took something - or some things - of yours as proof."

"Sabo?"

"Yeah?"

"I could've told you that without coming here."

Sabo stared at Ace. Then he scowled, strode right past Ace, and called over his shoulder, "Well, aren't you just _so_ smart!"

Ace grinned, knowing that Sabo was just trying to lighten the mood. The attempt was awkward, sure, but it was more than Sabo would usually do. Ace then paused - the current Sabo was older than he was Ace's memories. Significantly older, and different. Ace felt a pang go through his chest; he'd missed that much of Sabo's life, that much of his growth.

Did Sabo feel the same way?

"Hurry up, Ace!"

"Coming!"

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ace stared at the sky, the breeze rustling through his hair and sending a few strands over his eyes. He was calm, and his mind brimmed with focus and direction that it had been lacking for the past few weeks. His collared shirt was unbuttoned and the recently-fixed necklace rested around his neck, the red beads gleaming in the sunlight.

"Ace."

Ace glanced behind him and saw Sabo. The blond was dressed far more formally than Ace had ever seen him before; he wore his top hat, of course, but his clothing looked both expensive and maneuverable - even more so than his typical wear. He had a pipe strapped over his back and a mask over the lower half of his face.

"Quite the look," Ace commented. Sabo's eyes scrunched at the corners and Ace guessed that he was smiling.

"Thanks. Can't have everyone knowing how dashingly handsome I am, you know."

"Is Luffy ready?"

"Yes. We're just waiting on you, Ace."

Ace stepped back from the edge of the roof of the apartment complex, his hands falling to his sides, hooking one thumb in his pocket. "Time to get going."

* * *

Ace could feel the eyes on him; they burned differently than the flames that danced over his skin and hair, burned like lasers on his back. But he kept walking, each stride as confident and long as the one before it. His gaze was focused straight ahead, his mouth set in a hard line. His boots thudded against the concrete as he walked through the entranceway to the warehouse. Every breath he took prickled his lungs because of how charged the air was.

Sabo and Luffy flanked him on either side, walking slightly behind him but keeping stride. Both had the same fire burning in their eyes, and anyone that dared to get too close got chased away by dual glares. They weren't going to stop until they got to the end.

Ace paused before the massive double doors that no doubt led to the main room. He looked up, up, up to see their tops. Then he tensed and lashed out with a hard kick that nearly ripped the doors from their hinges after it busted them open. The resulting bang echoed throughout the large room, bouncing off the concrete floor and metal walls.

Gazes both heavy and sharp landed squarely on Ace and for just a moment he faltered, for just a moment he took stock of the situation around him, for just a moment he thought about what he was doing -

And then he was striding forward again, his gait as confident and uncompromising as before.

"Is that -"

"He looks like -"

"Who the hell -"

"What -"

"Ace?"

He saw the giant of a man sitting by the far wall. Ace walked toward him, ignoring the whispers. When he got close, close enough to see the thinly veiled confusion in the man's eyes, he abruptly turned, planted his feet, pulled back his fist, and punched the man standing nearest to him so hard in the abdomen that he could feel the man's muscles spasm in response to the sudden attack.

Blackbeard went flying, his head slamming into a nearby support pillar. He slid to the ground, unconscious. Scorch marks surrounded the already-forming bruise over his stomach, but Ace turned his attention away from the traitor while he shook out his fist. For all the preparation and strength he'd put into that punch, it had been surprisingly difficult. For a moment, Ace hadn't been sure that his punch would even be strong enough to actually hurt Blackbeard.

The whispers quickly turned to shouts and exclamations of surprise, and a multitude of gang members rushed past Ace to check on Blackbeard. For a second, Ace was annoyed, but then he reminded himself that they didn't know, that they couldn't know about how Blackbeard - only known to them as their brother Teach - was working to stab them all in the back.

Ace smiled at the large man in the chair who was staring at him with a gaze so heavy it was nearly suffocating. "Hello, Whitebeard."

Whitebeard didn't respond for a few seconds. Then he leaned forward, his golden eyes scrutinizing every last detail of the young man standing in front of him. His expression went from surprise to concern to something unreadable in the span of a few seconds.

"Ace?"

Ace glanced to the side and saw a man with blond hair and wide blue eyes staring at him. Confused, Ace tried to place him in his memory. He knew he recognized him from somewhere; the purple of his shirt drew most of his attention, so -

"What are you - you're alive?"

Ace's focus snapped wholly to the man and he nodded, a name coming to mind. "Yeah, Marco, I'm alive."

"Why did you punch Teach?"

Ace looked to the new person to speak, raising an eyebrow at the man's large size before he got his expression under control. "He's the guy that attacked me. I didn't want him to try to run away before I got at him again."

The atmosphere in the room plunged from shocked to dangerous. Sabo and Luffy immediately stepped up beside Ace, their silent presences more than enough to show that Ace was serious.

"Teach is the one that attacked you?" The blond said quietly.

"Marco, if he's telling the truth -"

Ace blinked. Marco? So he'd been right.

 _"Why - why do you call yourselves him your father?"_

 _"Because, even though it's just a word, it makes us happy."_

"Why wouldn't he be?" The man - Marco - turned back to Ace. "Wait here. I'm going to gather the rest of the commanders. We need to talk. Pops, is there anything you -"

Whitebeard shook his head slowly, his gaze still fixed on Ace.

Ace didn't like how troubled he looked.

* * *

Every face in the room was giving Ace a pounding headache. He hadn't expected to find the entire experience this painful, and the fact that he was only getting memories in bits and pieces meant that he still didn't know enough to really feel at ease in the room. He kept wanting to edge closer to Marco and the man going by Thatch, if only because they seemed the most welcoming.

Well, Thatch was far more so than Marco. He'd come up to Ace almost immediately when Ace had gone to the informal meeting room, barraging Ace with a series of questions and then interrupting himself to ask whether Ace was really okay, what had happened, the works.

He smelled like spices.

"Ace, one more time," Marco said slowly. "What exactly happened the day you were attacked?"

Ace took a deep breath. They were fleshing out his story, trying to get the bare bones. To have one of their own accused of being a traitor was preposterous; their feelings on the matter were clear on their incredulous faces. Their expressions when Ace had announced Blackbeard's actions the first time had been priceless.

"I don't know exactly how I got into the room. The reason I was there was to spy on a man who bore incredible resemblance to my dead brother." Ace nodded at Sabo, who was standing in the far corner of the room with Luffy and who inclined his head in response. "After moving to a first-floor room with a window, I was attacked. Teach stabbed me in the back, narrowly missing my spine and inflicting serious damage to my internals. He used a Sea Stone weapon, clearly with the intent to kill me. The only reason he didn't is because I turned at the last second, and he left me for dead."

The room went cold. Whitebeard's displeasure came in the form of an ominous, distant rumbling. Everyone else merely glared in the direction of the infirmary for a brief moment, where Blackbeard was being held.

"The shock and blood loss got to me quickly. I collapsed. Teach left after taking my hat and dagger, and my memories from that point on are conjecture."

"Tell us anyway," Marco said, his lips making a grim line across his face.

"I crawled out of the hotel and into the street, accumulating cuts and other minor scrapes on the way. I made it to the entrance to Sabo's apartment building and passed out from blood loss. Sabo returned within a minute of this, found me, and administered first aid before carrying me to his room and administering more in-depth care."

"If you don't mind," a person in the back said, "can I ask you about what you did?"

The words were directed at Sabo. The man was no doubt a doctor, and Sabo nodded. "I consulted a medically-inclined friend of mine for treatment," he said quietly. Kureha, Ace knew, still remembering her intimidating grin.

"We have your hat and dagger," Thatch put in, and everyone turned to look at him sharply. Thatch became distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, we did," he mumbled.

"Where are they?" Ace asked, all too aware of his missing possessions. Thatch looked to Marco, but the blond just shook his head, seeming to say, _you got yourself into this, now get out of it yourself._

Thatch sighed. "They're at the old base. By the, uh…" He cleared his throat. "By the grave."

Ace went still. "Grave?"

 _A clearing in the forest, old pipes that were battered and almost broken planted in an x in the ground over a simple headstone messily engraved with Sabo's name, an apology in his heart that never made it past his lips -_

"You were thought dead," Whitebeard rumbled, immediately quieting the whispers that had sprung up. "As such, we did what we would do for any member of our family."

Ace glanced to Luffy, who was looking decidedly pale. He also wouldn't meet Ace's gaze. "Lu?" The young boy started guiltily. "Did you know?"

"N-no," Luffy lied, but he wasn't making eye contact and the very act of uttering the word looked borderline painful from the way his features were contracting. Ace sighed. A horrible liar to the end, that kid was. But Ace realized that to press the issue would just make Luffy feel worse, so he let it go with a quiet, "Okay."

Ace then glanced at Sabo, but the blond's eyes and expression gave away nothing of what he was thinking.

"I'll get them later," Ace decided, turning his attention back to the Whitebeards. "I just -"

" _Ace, stop falling asleep in Thatch's cooking. People keep thinking he's trying to poison you."_

 _"He might be."_

 _"Shut up. My cooking is great and you're an ass."_

"...ce!"

Ace blinked, automatically pushing away the hand that had been snapping in front of his face. "What?"

"You zoned out," a man in impressive makeup said with a wry smile. Ace thought he recognized him but could not say from where. "We thought you were about to fall asleep."

"Oh. My bad." Ace rubbed the back of his neck while he thought about the brief interaction that had bounced around in his skull. Were these random bits of memories with the Whitebeards going to keep happening at such inopportune times?

"So," Marco said, drawing Ace's attention. The man suddenly seemed bigger, and with a start Ace realized that the impression was coming from his aura of authority. "Izo, go to the place where Ace was keeping watch on his brother. See if his story matches. Jozu, Haruta, double the guard on Teach's room for the duration of this investigation. Ace, you and your brothers can wait in a spare room until we decide what to do with you - Thatch will take you there. I will reinvestigate Teach's story and see what I can find. Everyone else, back to your normal duties."

"Dismissed," Whitebeard said as he got to his feet. Just like that, people began filing out of the room. Sabo and Luffy stayed by Ace, who remained next to Thatch. Marco was talking quietly with Whitebeard, and as tempted as Ace was to eavesdrop -

 _"Hey, Ace!"_

 _"Shhh, I'm trying to listen!"_

 _"Where did you even get a coconut? The market? And you know that it won't help you eavesdrop on Marco, right?"_

 _"Thatch, he's...I think he's preening."_

 _"Move over. And gimme that fruit."_

Ace managed to lean back just in time to avoid a back-of-the-head slap from Sabo, who was looking at him with concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just keep zoning out." Ace made a vague gesture. "Memories and all that. I'm fine, though. Honest."

Sabo looked unconvinced but let the matter go. He glanced at Thatch, who, after listening to Marco for a moment, turned to face them.

"All right! Off we go."

"Where are we going?" Ace asked as he strode behind Thatch.

"We have some spare rooms," Thatch explained as he walked. "We'll just keep you three in one until this all gets cleared up. Once it does, Ace, you and I are going to have words."

Ace shivered at Thatch's tone. "Of course."

They walked in silence for another minute, with Thatch occasionally shooting glances at Sabo and Luffy. He didn't ask anymore questions, but he seemed to find Sabo's presence far more concerning than Luffy's.

 _Does he know Luffy?_

Ace's youngest brother certainly didn't seem threatened by the Whitebeards. Then again, Ace couldn't recall him looking intimidated in recent memory, so he couldn't be sure. They could talk about that at a better time.

 _"Luffy, I joined a gang."_

 _"Really? Which one?"_

 _"You - you're not surprised?"_

 _"Shishishi! You look happier now! So, which one?"_

 _"The Whitebeards."_

Ace abruptly refocused, nearly running into Thatch's back when the man abruptly stopped. "Thatch?"

And then he heard it; a shout from back down the hall, in the direction that Jozu and Haruta had gone. Ace spun in place just in time to see no fewer than ten men and women whirl around the corner.

"Commander Thatch!" They chorused.

"What is it?" Thatch responded, stepping in front of Ace and his brothers. The woman in front took charge while the rest of her group peeled off, no doubt to spread whatever news they had.

"Teach escaped. He attacked the people watching him, almost killed a nurse, and fled."

Thatch stared for all of a second. Then he grit his teeth, his anger borderline palpable. "That _bastard_."

Ace agreed wholeheartedly, and he could see Luffy's protective fury shining in his eyes. Sabo met Ace's gaze, and his expression was hard.

"Is there any sign of where he went?" Thatch asked.

"No, sir, but Haruta is tracking him with backup coming from the Sixteenth."

Thatch nodded tightly. "Keep spreading the news, then go to the main room. No doubt Pops will have something to say about this."

"Right!"

The woman took off and Thatch faced Ace. His face was calm but anger burned beneath every word he spoke. "Ace, you and your brothers are still going to the room. I'll escort you there but I won't be able to stay."

"But -"

"No objections," Thatch growled. "Ace, don't give me that look. You just got back and we still have to sort that mess out. So let us handle this. We'll use your help later, I know it, but for now you need to be patient."

Ace grit his teeth, swallowing more protests and nodding stiffly. Every step he took away from the medical wing felt like a betrayal but with Sabo, Luffy, and Thatch all watching him, he wouldn't be able to slip away. Logically, he knew that he shouldn't try to sneak out and go after the guy that had almost killed him once already, but he wasn't really in a logical mood at the moment.

Once Thatch had dropped them off, Ace paced back and forth, ignoring the way Sabo was watching from the corner and the way Luffy was fidgeting on the bed.

 _This wasn't supposed to happen._

Teach was supposed to stay here until the Whitebeards (or Ace) dealt with him accordingly. Not slip out and kill again.

 _At least now everyone knows._

But that silver lining didn't feel all that comforting.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ace stood over the small stone plate, his gaze riveted to the letters etched onto its surface. A soft breeze rustled through the hills on the outskirts of the city, sending the piles of leaves still stuck between the old and dilapidated warehouses swirling. One leaf, orange at its base and red at its edges where it wasn't curled and brown, danced through the air only to get stuck between the two wooden poles dug into the dirt beneath crumbling asphalt.

The freckled teen stared at the leaf for a few seconds, watching it twitch. Then he crouched down and pulled it out, letting it go.

PORTGAS D. ACE

The name was the last homage to a man supposedly dead, one last honor on his gravestone.

But Ace wasn't dead. He was alive and had so much to do.

Ace took a deep breath, vowing that he wouldn't let this possibility - one that had so nearly become a reality - come to be. He reached out, gently lifting the dagger from the two crossed poles. Hooking the dagger back onto the belt, Ace felt some of his tension ease; there was simply something comfortable about being armed. He then stared at the hat, at the two faces that decorated the front. One smiling, one frowning.

"Not yet," Ace whispered quietly. He took the hat and set it firmly upon his head, feeling it press down his hair in a way that was comfortingly familiar. Then he stood and turned away from his gravestone, seeing Sabo standing a ways away with Luffy right beside him.

 _"Brothers?"_

 _"Brothers!"_

The eldest brother set his jaw and started walking.

* * *

Ace was less than pleased about the fact that he was basically under house arrest while the Whitebeards tried to figure out exactly what was going on. During the two days he spent exploring the base, his brain continually assaulted him with random bits and pieces of his memories. But, little by little, Ace was starting to recognize names and faces from beyond his immediate memory. The trip to his grave to pick up his hat and dagger had increased that recognition even more, though Ace wasn't sure if that was because the feeling of familiarity or something else.

Ace knew that, if he just stayed put, he could probably recover the rest of his memories in time. Unfortunately, he wasn't one for staying put and really never had been. Marco and Thatch seemed to know this and tried to keep an eye on him, but with their duties ramped up from Ace's longtime absence and the entire Blackbeard situation, they weren't able to keep that close of watch on the teen.

Someone knocked on the door and Ace glanced up, calling, "Come in."

"Ace, we've found Blackbeard," Thatch said, stepping into the room Ace and his brothers shared and closing the door softly behind him. Ace raised one eyebrow, anticipation rising within him.

"Where is he?"

Thatch smirked, dropping onto the opposite bed. "Give me a second. I have to have my dramatic moment, you know." Ignoring Ace's eye roll, Thatch continued. "Luffy's in the kitchen, by the way, before you start to worry. Your brother Sabo should be able to keep him under control."

"Great. Where's Blackbeard?"

Thatch raised a hand. "I'm not telling you until I get your solemn word that you're not going to go charging off and getting into trouble without at least me there to drag you out of whatever mess you find."

Ace frowned. "Really? Thatch, I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that," Thatch replied evenly. "But I'm requesting that anyway. We just got you back, Ace, and no one wants to go through that again."

Seeing the pain in Thatch's eyes, Ace relented. He didn't want to cause the Whitebeards pain like that again, especially since he was just starting to realize how close-knit they were. "All right."

"Thank you. Also, I lied."

"What?" Ace snapped, only for Thatch to laugh.

"Relax, Ace. We don't know exactly where Teach is, just that he's been very active in a particular area over the past couple of days."

"Which is...?"

"Impel Down."

Ace went quiet at the name of the infamous prison. He recalled hearing stories from inside and knew that, if Teach was there... "What's he after?"

Thatch's expression was grim. "He's likely trying to break out Level Six prisoners to recruit them. The bastard doesn't realize that even he can't handle them."

Ace took a deep breath. "We're going to stop him?"

"Of course. You'll be welcome to help once the nurses have cleared you."

"Wha - I'm fine!"

Thatch stood. "Listen to me, Ace. If you lost your memory, we all want to make absolutely sure that you didn't lose your combat knowledge along with it. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"Yeah." Ace sullenly watched Thatch rummage around in his pockets, feeling more than a little bitter.

"By the way, these are yours; Marco grabbed them from your old room. Turns out the guy felt nostalgic. Anyway, here."

Ace caught the bundle Thatch tossed his way, eyeing the dark fabric. He pulled the two items apart, seeing a black sleeve and bandana lined with flame patterns. "Why?"

"We don't want you fighting in public without your stuff, dummy," Thatch said amicably. Ace's gaze shot up to meet his adoptive brother's, seeing the mischievous light Thatch made no effort to hide. "Of course, giving these to you definitely isn't an insinuation that, should you sneak out, you're welcome to join us. Not at all."

Ace grinned, feeling respect anew for Thatch. "Of course not."

"Glad you understand," Thatch said, clapping Ace on the back before he left. Ace looked at the bandanna and sleeve before eyeing the tattoo on his left arm.

"So that's it," Ace muttered, sliding the sleeve over the tattoo. It fit perfectly and Ace carefully turned his arm to fire, only to to grin and stop when he saw that the sleeve wasn't damaged. So it was the source of the fire-resistant material that Sabo had found in his couch. Then he grabbed the bandana, realizing that, with his hat, his face would be almost completely covered, either by fabric or shadow.

Footsteps outside the door stopped Ace from putting on the bandana. The door opened and Sabo and Luffy walked through, the former half-dragging the latter. Ace raised an eyebrow and Sabo just shook his head.

"The idiot nearly cleaned out the kitchen before I stopped him."

"What were you doing, sleeping?" Ace asked. Sabo shook his head, a proud little smirk quirking his lips.

"Eavesdropping."

Ace raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. "What did you hear?"

Sabo's proud smirk only grew. "Enough. I think I know where Blackbeard is heading."

"Impel Down," Ace said immediately, noting the way even Luffy - as full and sleepy as he was - reacted to the name. "Thatch just told me, and gave me unofficial permission to go as long as I have help."

"Ace -"

"So, I was thinking that, with you two, we can take out Blackbeard and any other ilk he's managed to dig up around the city. Sound good?"

"He won't be at Impel Down," Sabo said firmly, stopping Ace in his tracks.

"What?"

"I said, he won't be at Impel Down. Think about it; his original plan was to play the revolutionaries and Whitebeard off each other. Clearly, that isn't happening anymore. But there's one other major power in this city that would be more than happy to attack Whitebeard, and now that Blackbeard has drawn Whitebeard's heavy hitters into the open with the rumors of Impel Down..."

Ace's eyes went wide and his stomach dropped. "The police. He's going to the police."

"And where would a scheming little showoff like Teach go first?" Sabo asked the question as though he already knew the answer. Ace guessed that he did.

"Police headquarters." Ace clenched his hands into fists. "We have to stop him."

"We don't have the manpower," Sabo said bluntly. Ace stared at him. "Think about it; the Whitebeards are too busy with the Impel Down bait and they won't really want to commit to a different offensive. The revolutionaries don't want to get involved overtly in something like this. There go our two main allies."

"There are others," Ace argued. "Luffy's gang, for one."

"It's small."

"Strong," Ace and Luffy corrected at the same time. Ace continued, "I've met them, Sabo, and even though I was a little off at the time I can at least remember that they aren't weak. And there are others."

"Like?"

Ace thought back, casting his mind to the various allies he'd bumped into along the way. "Kid would help, if only for the fight. Law, once I track his ass down. Shanks for sure now that it's come to this; he won't appreciate hearing that Blackbeard is trying to cause chaos like this."

Sabo looked impressed. "Wow. Maybe you're not dumb."

"Thanks."

"I can probably find a few people willing to help," Sabo mused. "As well as a few gangs that wouldn't mind helping to put Blackbeard in his place; Blackbeard's gang has been causing a lot of trouble in the underworld since its formation."

Ace grinned. "Good. Can you do that in five hours?"

Sabo smirked. "Give me three."

"I can get some people too," Luffy put in, sitting up and letting out a burp as his stomach finally returned to normal size. "Rooster'd be willing to help. Cabbage, too, if there are cameras."

Ace blinked at the nicknames but decided he'd just roll with it. "All right, Luffy. Just make sure you're ready in three hours. We'll meet up at the old Whitebeard hideout."

"Oh good, you finally remembered where it is," Sabo said, his tone only slightly sarcastic. Ace shot him a dry look.

"I had to go there to get my stuff."

Sabo put up both hands, palms up, and grinned. "Right, of course. Well then, I'm off. See you in three."

"I'll go too," Luffy said. "Bye, Ace!"

Ace waved as his brothers left and then took a deep breath. He had to find Kid and Law, which was no easy task. Fortunately, he had a good idea of where the two would be if he went calling.

 _"A bandana?"_

 _"Of course. You have to hide your face while functioning actively as a gang member if you don't want to be attacked while you're normally out and about. Plus, I'm sure you don't want to drag your brother into danger."_

 _"Right. Thanks, Marco."_

Only this time, he wouldn't be meeting them as Ace. The freckled teen pulled on the bandana, habit driving his fingers as he positioned it on his face. Then he stood, rolled his shoulders, and walked over to the window. He had some talking to do.

* * *

It took no time at all to walk over to the park, especially since the crowds parted around him like water. More than once, police officers approached him, but Ace sent them running with minimal damage to them and the surrounding environment. Not many of the policemen wanted to tangle with a guy that was supposed to be dead.

As Ace had expected, Kid and his gang were in the park, setting up for their usual soccer game. Ace watched the old man reading the newspaper on the bench get up and leave hurriedly upon noticing Ace, and the teen grinned.

It felt so nice to be in his normal gear. Even better to have his flames so close to the surface, ready to be called at any time whether he truly needed them or not.

Ace walked right up to the field and got within ten yards of Kid before the gang leader - and his friends - noticed Ace.

"Hey!" The initial indignant shout died as the Kid gang realized exactly who they were shouting at.

Again, Ace heard whispers of disbelief and confusion. Kid, unlike his crew members, strode right up to Ace, Killer at his side. "The hell is a guy like you doing here?"

Ace stifled a smile and reached up, ignoring the way Kid's eyes narrowed fractionally in response. The freckled teen simply adjusted his hat before letting his hand fall. "Would you care to help me attack police headquarters? I'm a little short on men at the moment and a close friend of mine told me you might like something like that."

Kid blinked, his suspicion obvious. Killer cleared his throat. "You're Fire Fist, right? How is that possible? You're supposed to be dead."

"I didn't fancy the afterlife. So, yes or no?"

"We're not going on fucking suicide mission," Kid snapped. Ace could respect that response; after all, any respectable leader wouldn't be willing to attack such a heavily defended area without enough people to push back counterattacks.

"Then it's a good thing it's not one," Ace said amicably. He stared Kid down, despite having to look up to do so. "As polite as I'm being, this isn't an invitation." Ace held up one hand, letting the flames on his skin say his point clearly. "There will be others."

Kid scowled. "Why the fuck should I trust someone like you?"

Ace smirked and summoned a wall of flames that effectively hid Kid and Ace from everyone else, even Killer, who had to jump back to avoid getting burned. Before Kid could attack, Ace pulled down his bandana and tipped up his hat, revealing his face. It was a gamble, of course, to show Kid his face. But Ace was confident that Kid wouldn't tell anyone, especially since the redhead was all too aware of Ace's occupation. And Ace would roast him if he tried.

Kid's eyes widened immediately. "You're -"

"Let's keep it quiet, yeah?" Ace suggested, pulling his bandana and hat back into place. "But that's why. I'm confident you'll keep your mouth shut. We're meeting at the old Whitebeard hideout in the warehouse district in two and a half hours."

"R-right," Kid acknowledged after a moment. Ace extinguished his flames and stayed perfectly still despite the number of knives and guns that were pointed at him. Kid noticed the situation and snapped, "Guns down, dumbasses!"

"But Kid -"

"It's fine." Kid gave Ace a long look. "We'll be there, but if it turns out to be a trap or some shit, your head will be the first one coming off."

Ace grinned. "Duly noted."

* * *

Finding Law proved to be a bit more of a challenge. Ace was operating under the assumption that Law was still keeping an eye on Ceasar's gang, and therefore he was back to the side of the city he'd been at when Ceasar's men had tried to kidnap him. After almost an hour of no one approaching him, however, Ace was beginning to think that Law wasn't in the area anymore.

"Mysterious bastard," Ace muttered.

If he was honest with himself, Ace wasn't sure whether Law would agree to help or not. Based on Ace's memories, Law had been distancing himself from Ace and Luffy in the past couple of years - before Ace joined the Whitebeards, at least - despite the fact that he had been a de facto member of the family for several years after the fire at the orphanage.

Ace couldn't remember the last time he'd talked to Law outside of the encounter he'd had while still without his memories (and he was definitely going to make Law pay for that bit of assery), which made tracking him down all the harder. And he couldn't really ask around, not with the way people seemed to be avoiding him at all costs.

Rubbing his forehead, Ace tried to think like Law. If he was a mysterious death doctor, where would he be? But there weren't any caves or abandoned hospitals nearby, so that line of thinking fell flat.

Just calling out Law's name would be inviting trouble and would probably annoy the guy if he was nearby -

Ace resisted the temptation to smack his forehead. "Of course!" Taking a deep breath, Ace filled his lungs until they felt as though they would burst and then yelled as loud as he possibly could, "LAW!"

The noise bounced around the empty streets, echoing for an impressive amount of time. Ace waited with his arms crossed over his chest, inwardly debating whether to try again. If Law had not heard that shout, then there was little doubt in Ace's mind that another would not make the enigmatic man appear.

Ace was about to shout again when he heard footsteps from behind him. Turning, Ace grinned when he saw a familiarly irate expression.

"And why, exactly, are you shouting my name so loudly?" Law asked.

"I wanted to find you."

"Congratulations. Here I am."

"Don't be like that, Law. I need your help."

Law's eyes narrowed. "The way you're talking...you recovered your memory?"

"Of course!" Ace's grin turned feral. "And I remembered exactly how much I owe you for all your stupid tricks over the years."

Law paled, but he wasn't fast enough to escape. Not by a long shot.

* * *

"Well, we're all here, I suppose," Sabo said slowly. He, Ace, and Luffy stood in front of the fairly large crowd of people gathered beneath them. Ace nodded his agreement, somewhat surprised by the number of people his brothers had found in such a short span of time. He saw Kid and what looked like most of his gang in the crowd, and Law was hiding somewhere in the back. Ace recognized the Straw Hats, noting the rather colorful group of people clustered around them.

Luffy knew this many people?

Ace knew that he shouldn't be surprised; Luffy got into all kinds of trouble without telling Ace, and he picked up allies and friends along the way. Even Shanks was hanging around in the back, largely staying out of the crowd's awareness. For all that the infamous leader liked attention, he recognized that he wasn't the focus here.

"We should call the leaders of each group," Ace decided. "And we can come up with the best plan to get that bastard, and launch our assault in an hour."

"Whoa, don't get too ahead of yourself," Sabo warned. "Planning is more difficult than it sounds."

"It is?" Luffy and Ace asked simultaneously. The two glanced at each other, grinned, and returned their attention to Sabo. The blond sighed.

"Yes. Ace, you should know this - Luffy said that you had your own gang for a little while."

"We didn't do anything that required this many people," Ace pointed out. Sabo nodded, conceding the point.

"I can handle most of the planning, then. The revolutionaries have been eyeing police headquarters for a while now. The thing is, I won't be able to participate much in the battle - at least not visibly."

"Don't want to drag your people into it?" Ace guessed. Sabo nodded.

"We're a careful bunch, though I'll pull some strings and see what I can do from there. You and Luffy will probably be the heads of the assault."

Ace paused. "Wait, Luffy? No, he shouldn't - "

"I can handle it, Ace," Luffy said firmly. "You might not remember, but I'm not little anymore." Luffy grinned. "My punch is like a rifle!"

 _That's certainly better than a pistol..._

Still, Ace was hesitant. He didn't want Luffy to get hurt. But both his brothers were staring at him and Ace caved under the pressure, but not after warning Luffy that, if he got hurt, there would be hell to pay.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Ace held up a hand, listening with bated breath. He didn't hear anything abnormal and waved his fingers forward. Several people crept up behind him, each one moving almost silently.

"Cameras start at the next turn in the alley," Ace muttered to his new companion. The man - an acquaintance of Law's (Ace got the feeling that Law had been lying about the "acquaintance" part) named Penguin - nodded and pulled out a laptop.

"Block the feed for long enough for me to get into the network and we'll be good," Penguin said. He handed Ace a small device. "Plug this into the guts of the camera. I'll do the rest."

Ace nodded and signalled for the rest of his strike team to wait. Eyes taking in every detail, Ace darted forward as the camera swung away from him. It swung back quickly, but Ace was ready with a wall of flame that would blind the camera and distort the lense with heat. Memories of using that trick before filtered through Ace's brain as he jumped up, nimbly climbing the building until he was hanging just above the camera.

Feeling his abs strain with the effort, Ace stretched out and gingerly removed the metal plate from the back of the camera.

 _They need newer models._

But Ace was grateful that they didn't, and he slid in Penguin's device, seeing it spark. Ace waited for ten seconds and then saw his team emerge from the shadows, grins on their faces. Ace wore a matching one and lightly jumped down.

"So, is the bastard in there?" Ace asked. Penguin didn't reply for a moment, his lips pursed in concentration as he watched his computer. And then he smirked. In that moment, Ace could see why people called him one of the greatest hackers in the city - even with the penguin hat, the guy had that look; the one of victory that Ace had seen on people who knew exactly what they were doing.

"Yeah. ninth floor. Can't tell what he's doing, but…" Penguin paused again. "I don't see any of his gang."

"They must be running interference at Impel Down," another person suggested. Ace nodded his agreement.

"Right. I'll report back - you guys get to your ready positions. Without those cameras, they'll never see this coming."

* * *

The police weren't prepared for the assault at all. Ace saw more new recruits - distinguishable by their fresh faces and utter terror upon recognizing who they were fighting - than he'd ever seen before and knew that the best of the police force were at Impel Down, trying to capture Whitebeard. Ace tore through the young officers that were trying to block the way to the entrance of the building, his Devil Fruit and natural agility making him an extremely difficult target.

A bullet grazed Ace's cheek and he winced when it actually drew blood. Honing in on the officer with the Sea Stone bullets, Ace used the man's allies as shields until he was close enough to punch the officer. The young man went flying, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Off to one side, Ace could see Kid and his crew mowing down enemy after enemy. Kid's crimson hair stood out in the crowd but not nearly as much as the monstrosity of a mechanical arm attached to him. Ace almost stopped to stare as Kid brought the limb down on a crowd of helpless officers. Nearby, Killer flipped and danced around a squad, his sickle-like blades whirling with deadly efficiency.

"Gum Gum Rifle!"

A rubber fist missed Ace's head by inches and Ace whirled, watching as an officer that had been about to stab him with a Sea Stone blade fell with an imprint of Luffy's fist on his face. Sending Luffy a grin and a wave, Ace took off again, turning to pure flames and flowing through the rest of the officers, becoming whole again when he crossed the threshold of the building.

Law was already inside. Ace watched with an incredulous expression as heads flew throughout the lobby, screaming policemen creating a din that had Ace's ears ringing. Seeing the worryingly calm expression on Law's face, however, Ace decided that it would be best to just move on.

But he did hesitate for long enough for Luffy to catch up, and the rubber boy nearly bounced past Ace before the older brother sprinted to keep pace.

"Wait up, Luffy!" Ace called, following his brother into the elevator. "We should take the -"

The doors slid shut with a quiet ding, and Ace watched as Luffy reached out a hand to press the button. Realization struck Ace and he darted forward, reaching out to catch Luffy's wrist, but he wasn't fast enough to stop the younger boy from pressing every single button on the panel.

Ace stared at his younger brother for a solid four seconds. He didn't blink when the elevator lurched into motion. He hardly glanced at the doors when they slid open. He only turned away from Luffy when the policemen waiting in ambush on the second floor tried to charge the elevator. Ace pushed them back with flames until the doors closed.

"Are you serious?" Ace asked his younger brother quietly.

"I always do that!" Luffy declared with a grin.

"Luffy, no," Ace said. "You do that after you get out. Not right away."

Luffy blinked. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

The two brothers waited in silence for the elevator to stop at the right floor. Elevator music played in the background, and every minute Ace had to send out streams of fire to stop any officers from getting in the elevator when the doors inevitably opened at the wrong floor.

They finally reached the ninth floor, and the second the doors dinged open, Ace yanked Luffy to the floor. Bullets hit against the wall where they'd just been, destroying the decorations and raining dust down on Ace and Luffy. One bullet rolled by Ace and he tapped it just to make sure, wincing when he felt his strength waver. Sea stone, definitely.

"Assholes couldn't even wait for us to get out," Ace muttered. He glanced at Luffy, who nodded. As one, the two got to their feet and charged forward with war cries, fire and fists flying. Policemen scattered left and right, their magazines exhausted from that first volley.

Ace ducked a knife slice and responded with a sharp kick to the attacker's knee. As that man went down Ace kneed him in the stomach, grabbed his arm as it came up, and threw him at three of his companions. All four when down in a heap, but Ace was already focused on his next opponents.

Two came at him with knives and the third had a sword. Ace roasted all three and moved on, seeing Luffy tearing through six officers off to one side.

The next officer to come at Ace - one with incredibly pink hair - found himself lifted into the air, Ace's eyes inches from his own.

"Where is he?" Ace growled, tightening his grip on the poor officer's uniform. "Where is Blackbeard?"

"L-let me go!" The officer struggled, reaching for a baton strapped to his belt. Ace grabbed it with his free hand and held it up to the officer's face, letting his eyes focus on the tip.

"I asked where Blackbeard is," Ace said, raising his body temperature enough to make the officer sweat. "Tell me. I won't ask again."

"Get away from Coby!"

Ace jumped back and released the officer as another nearly cut off Ace's hand at the wrist with wickedly sharp Sea Stone blades. Ace eyed their odd shape and then the visor over the new arrival's eyes. "Who are you?"

"Helmeppo!"

"Right. Well, Helmeppo, do you know where Blackbeard is, since your partner doesn't?"

The blond stayed resolutely silent. Ace scowled in irritation, his eyes roving the wide office space - now a war zone - once more. There was still no sign of Blackbeard. Ace could almost picture the traitor laughing at him and he grit his teeth, fire flickering in his hair. A policeman tried to jump him from behind but he went straight through Ace, receiving heavy burns for his efforts.

Helmeppo and his pink-haired friend Coby tried to help the officer and Ace ignored them, his instincts telling him that they weren't much of a threat, at least not anymore.

 _"Ace! Ace, is that you?"_

Ace blinked, reaching up to touch his earpiece. "Penguin?"

"Yeah, it's me! Listen, Teach just passed a camera on the tenth floor! Looks like he's avoiding the elevators. He might be trying to escape through the roof."

"Like I'll let him do that. Keep us updated. Luffy!"

"Yeah?"

Ace kicked away a police officer and ran over to Luffy, clearing a path as he went. "Teach went to the next floor! We're going!"

"Got it!"

Luffy disentangled himself from the four officers he'd been fighting and followed Ace to the stairwell. Right before they stepped in, the windows surrounding the large room abruptly shattered, more people swinging in on ropes.

Ace stared in mild confusion as the people - clad mostly in black cloaks with their faces hidden - assaulted the marines. One of them strode up to Ace, his features hidden in shadow, but Ace recognized the boots he wore and the pipe he held. "Sabo?"

"Just say my name and throw my disguise out the window," Sabo said cheerfully.

"Sorry."

"We'll keep these guys and everyone else below from following you up. But that's it. Officially, we're here to collect information."

Ace grinned, clapping his brother on the shoulder. "I like the way you think."

"Of course you do. Now go!"

* * *

Ace had learned his lesson earlier and so he and Luffy took the stairs and not the elevator. They had to fight through waves of officers to get up, but Ace thought it was worth it. After all, if they went in the elevator again, the policemen would probably try to sabotage it.

With screams, the clash of weaponry, and the report of gunfire echoing throughout the stairwell Ace could barely hear himself think much less talk to Luffy, but the two brothers had never needed to talk during a fight; they moved instinctively, and Ace found himself slipping into a rhythm he didn't know he had as he and Luffy worked seamlessly together to cover each other's weak points.

The tenth floor was another maelstrom of officers but right as Ace was about to launch his attack, war cries sounded from the elevators. An oddly innocuous _ding_ rang throughout the room and then the elevators slowly slid open -

Kid and his gang poured through with wild yells, grins on their faces and Kid leading the charge. They tore through the shocked policemen in their way with reckless abandon. Blood arced through the air and someone was screaming only to be silenced a second later -

"What're you waiting for, asshole?" Kid shouted as he landed next to Ace. "I called dibs on this floor. Move it!"

Ace nodded and took off, Luffy hot on his heels. Again they went to the stairwell, but there were far fewer officers this time.

"Looks like most of them were on the lower floors," Ace said to himself as he flipped a woman over his head and sent her screaming down the stairs. The noise cut off with a dull thud and Ace glanced at Luffy, who was taking on three at once. The nimble teen jumped up and executed an impressive spinning kick that had all three falling in unconscious heaps.

By the time they made it to the roof, Ace had blood splattered across his chest, hands, and arms. Very little of it was his; he'd taken a few slashes from knives and a black eye from a particularly wiry policewoman, but that was the extent of his injuries. He was breathing hard, however, and silently resenting the fact that his muscles _still_ hadn't fully recovered from his time spent unconscious on Sabo's couch.

Kicking open the door to the roof, Ace brought a hand up to hold his hat down as wind blasted through the stairwell. He and Luffy stepped into the watery sunlight. Distant clouds were gathering on the horizon, but whatever storm they contained was a long ways off.

The roof wasn't an even surface; another stairwell had another exit nearby, and air conditioning units sat in blocky formation. Ace signalled for Luffy to stay quiet.

"Penguin," Ace whispered, "do you have eyes on the roof?"

 _"Hold on; trying to help...crap. Hold on... One second."_

Ace waited, fingers drumming impatiently against his dagger's sheath. Luffy fidgeted as well, his mouth a thin line as his eyes darted across the rooftop. Ace tried to see if Blackbeard was in immediate view, but the bastard was nowhere to be found. Could he have slipped back inside? But there was no point - there were only eleven floors in the building not including the roof, so he would have been sandwiched between Ace, Kid, and everyone below that.

 _"Looks like a couple of the higher-ups are coming from Impel Down."_

Ace mouthed a curse and then said, "Who?"

 _"Can't tell. The city cameras suck. But you have about ten minutes; some of the people under Whitebeard's protection are running interference. Wait - Shanks is stepping in. You should be good until they find a way to get around him. I'll let you know if they get close."_

"And Blackbeard?"

 _"Can't see anything on the roof besides you and your brother. There's a camera above the stairwell doors, but that's it."_

Ace glanced over his shoulder and waved to the camera before turning his attention back to the rest of the roof.

 _"He's not inside as far as I can see. No one's reported a sighting of him since earlier, either. Oh, and one of Sabo's men is coming your way."_

"Got it. Thanks."

"Is he here?" Luffy whispered. Ace nodded tersely.

"Somewhere. We're gonna sneak around and find him, okay?"

Luffy gave a thumbs-up of acknowledgement and darted away, his sandals impressively quiet on the paved roof. Ace watched him go for a second before quietly running in the opposite direction, his senses on high alert for any sign of Blackbeard. The wind hummed as a constant background noise and Ace pulled his bandana a little higher on his face, his eyes narrowed.

He darted between the air conditioning units, their large bulk shielding him from prying eyes. After checking that Blackbeard wasn't in or near the units, Ace scoped as much area as he could while remaining hidden. He had pushed his hat down to his back, confident that no one would be watching. The bright orange on his head would only give him away.

Ace saw a stairwell door open in his peripheral vision and a black-clad young woman slipped through. Waving, Ace saw her notice him and she quickly made her way over, recognizing the need for stealth.

"You haven't seen him?" She asked, sliding into place next to Ace. Ace shook his head.

"It's a big roof. Too many places to hide."

"The helipad doesn't help," the woman commented, eyeing the construct on the western end. Ace shook his head.

"No, it doesn't. What's your name? I'm Ace, by the way."

She seemed to be smirking at him from behind her mask. "I know who you are, Ace. Sabo won't shut up about you. My name is Koala."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm here to help - Sabo's tangled up with stopping a few higher-ranked guys from getting through. Luffy's gang is helping him out."

 _"Ace?"_

"Penguin?"

 _"Something just passed in front of the stairwell camera - the one that your friend came through. The camera - oh, fine."_

"What?"

"Both cameras are out. You're on your own for that. But the doors are locked electrically - hold on, I can keep whoever's trying to leave up there with you. Good luck."

"Thanks. Well, screw catching him by surprise." Ace took a deep breath and was only distantly aware of Koala plugging her ears. "LUFFY!"

The younger boy was at Ace's side almost immediately. "Where is he?"

"Stairs," was all Ace said, and then the two were gone. Koala watched them go before sighing and muttering,

"They're all the same, huh?"

Ace wasn't exactly sure when he'd moved. He'd been by Koala, he'd called Luffy -

And then he'd been running, just knowing that Luffy was there, and they'd reached the stairs, and Ace saw -

Blackbeard.

He looked no different than Ace's memories, and when he saw the bastard's face Ace nearly staggered, his brain stretching to a wire-thin band before snapping back into place so quickly that sparks exploded behind his eyes and Ace staggered, only avoiding falling thanks to Luffy's quick reflexes.

"Ace?" Luffy asked, but he wasn't looking at Ace. His glare was fixed firmly on the traitor that had dared to attack his brother standing a few yards away.

"I'm fine," Ace managed around the headache pounding away in his skull. Names and faces and memories flooded through his mind but he forced them back. He would have to sort through whatever had just happened later. Now, there was something far more pressing to do.

Ace straightened, drumming up all the hatred and anger and betrayal he had fostered inside of him for the past several weeks and months and focusing them into a single blistering glare, a glare he levelled straight at Blackbeard. Blackbeard, because this man was not Teach; he wasn't a friend, a brother. Flames danced into existence along Ace's arms and shoulders, and more fire appeared to burn in his eyes. When he spoke, his words scorched the air.

" _You_."

Blackbeard froze, no longer fruitlessly trying to open the lock. He turned, making eye contact, and the flames on Ace's shoulders burned blue from heat.

"Did you think you could hurt my family and get away with it?" Ace continued, each word sharp and painful and blisteringly furious. Ace put one hand on Luffy's shoulder, felt the tension in Luffy's shoulders, and realized that Luffy was just as furious as he was. "You're going to regret what you did."

"Zehahaha!"

Ace's grip on Luffy's shoulder tightened as Teach laughed. "You think this is funny?"

"Come on, _Ace_ ," Blackbeard taunted, intentionally using Ace's real name instead of Fire Fist. Ace grit his teeth, knowing that Blackbeard was trying to get a rise out of him. "This is a funny situation! You never would've though you'd be attacking me, right? But here you are!"

Ace's grip tightened again, but this time it was to stop Luffy from jumping forward. "I don't think I can appreciate the humor." Ace engulfed his free hand in flames, bringing up the fist just in case Blackbeard somehow missed it.

Blackbeard grinned, his missing teeth clearly visible. "Scary," he commented with absolutely no fear in his voice. Ace's eyes narrowed, he let go of Luffy's shoulder, and he darted forward so quickly the muscles in his calves twinged.

Ace and Luffy both aimed for Blackbeard's stomach. Blackbeard didn't even have the time to move; as one, Luffy and Ace's fists collided with his abdomen.

Ace's flames shot out in all directions and then, to Ace's shock, sputtered out and Ace cursed, pulling back quickly while his fingers pulsed with pain. He stumbled and Luffy had to catch Ace and drag him out of Blackbeard's reach as the man pulled out a gun. Ace had no doubt that it had sea stone bullets and, as he and Luffy crouched behind an AC unit, Ace examined his fingers while two bullets dug into the ground right by him.

Two of them were most likely broken and almost every digit was already beginning to bruise. All the power that Ace had poured into that punch had been stopped cold.

"He has sea stone on his stomach," Ace muttered, gingerly flexing his hand. Punching with his right again would be difficult, but not impossible. "Probably a plate of some kind." Ace reached down and unsheathed his dagger, flipping it into his left hand. He'd trained to use both hands for just such an occasion and was now happy that he had.

"You good?" Ace asked, glancing at Luffy. The younger boy nodded, holding his middle. Eyes narrowed, Ace pulled aside Luffy's torn shirt, seeing a fairly deep gash over Luffy's chest. "Did he do that?"

A nod. "When I jumped at him. Had a blade in his left hand."

Ace cursed. Blackbeard had been targeting Luffy, not him. "Bastard. I'm gonna roast him."

Luffy nodded.

A bullet pinged off the ground right by Ace's hand and he quickly pulled his arm closer to his body while Blackbeard's voice echoed across the rooftop.

"Come on out, _brother_!"

"Like he has the right to call me family anymore," Ace snarled, but Luffy's hand on his arm stopped Ace from jumping out from cover. Ace glanced at his younger brother, saw the determination burning in Luffy's eyes, and sighed. "You're right. I can't rush into this."

But Blackbeard's weapons and armor were a problem. Ace had no idea how much Sea Stone Blackbeard had managed to strap onto his rather robust form, or where that Sea Stone was. He knew there was some on his stomach, but other than that…

If Ace had to guess, he'd say that Blackbeard had more on his back and possibly the back of his neck to prevent fatal blows from behind.

Coward.

"Well, you two gents really look stuck."

"Koala!" Ace turned so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash. Koala waved at him with a small grin.

"So, I checked out the rest of the roof. There's no good cover in Blackbeard's direction besides these AC units. Blackbeard himself is approaching very slowly; he's especially wary of you, Ace, since your fire can go around his Sea Stone plates."

"I could just barbeque him," Ace offered.

"In the time it would take you to create a sustained wave of fire hot enough to do that, he would fill you with bullets."

"...Right. Guns."

Koala gave Ace a fleeting smile before becoming serious again. "Fortunately, Blackbeard doesn't know that I'm here. Therefore, I can distract him while you two charge in for close-quarters. Avoid striking at his vital areas; those are the places that have armor, and he may have a ring or two made of Sea Stone to give his punches more weight. And Luffy - you can move faster than Ace. You have the better chance of getting close before Blackbeard can react. You have to get those guns out of his hands."

Luffy nodded. "Gear Second. Got it." A moment later, Ace saw his brother's limbs almost pulse, and then he began to steam, his skin turning pinkish-red.

"Lu?" Ace was fairly sure he'd seen this before, but never up close. He and Luffy hadn't sparred much over the past few years, so Ace had probably missed this development.

"I'll be fine, Ace. Just wait, I'll knock that bastard down!"

"I'm going," Koala whispered, darting away. Ace waited with bated breath, eventually hearing Koala shouting from a ways away. Luffy tensed.

Ace stared at his younger brother for a second before nodding. Luffy was off like a shot, gone so quickly that Ace almost didn't realize he'd moved. Three shots rang out and Ace stiffened as the sounds of a scuffle reached him. Then the clatter of something, another shot, and Ace couldn't stay still anymore when he heard Luffy grunt in pain.

Darting out from behind cover, Ace took in the scene immediately. Blackbeard was standing over Luffy, cradling his right wrist - there was still one gun in his right hand - while Luffy was on his back on the ground in front of him, clutching his stomach. Ace could see blood seeping through his fingers and his vision went red.

"BLACKBEARD!" Ace roared, launching himself forward while fire exploded from every inch of his body.

 _You won't touch Luffy._

Ace brought his fist back, seeing the fear in Blackbeard's eyes as the traitor brought his gun around.

 _I won't let you._

Luffy was yelling Ace's name, trying to sit up and distract Blackbeard -

Ace stared into the barrel of Blackbeard's pistol, knowing that he wouldn't make it in time. He threw his fist forward anyway, fire surging in a raging wave that wouldn't be fast enough -

Blackbeard's smile was cruel. He pulled the trigger, and the resulting bang echoed across the rooftops.

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Must I do everything, dear brother of mine?"

Ace blinked, seeing the gray bar stretching across his vision. He switched his gaze to the owner of the pipe, a person that had very familiar blond hair. "Sabo?"

"Of course." Sabo lowered his weapon and Ace saw that a section of it was smoking, a bullet wedged deeply into the metal. "Blackbeard," Sabo greeted coldly.

"Zehahaha!" Blackbeard's laugh was as hearty as ever despite the increasing danger of his situation. "And who are you? You're a little late to join the party!"

"Haven't you ever heard the term 'fashionably late'?" Sabo whipped his pipe in a circle to clear the air of the remnants of Ace's fire and then pointed the tip at Blackbeard. "I'll be taking that ugly head of yours."

Ace grinned, his shock at Sabo's abrupt entrance fading. "Not if I get it first. Luffy!"

"Yeah!"

The youngest brother lashed out with his feet, catching Blackbeard in the ankle and causing the larger man to stagger back. The kick wasn't as strong as usual, but it was enough to throw Blackbeard off balance. Ace and Sabo darted forward, no verbal communication necessary as Ace went high and Sabo went low.

Flames burst to life around Ace's fist, the heat warping the air. Blackbeard pointed his gun straight at Ace again but Sabo's pipe knocked the weapon out of his hand, probably breaking a few fingers in the process. Ace's expression turned feral as he slammed his fist into Blackbeard's cheek, pouring all the protective fury he could muster into that single blow. At the same time, Sabo followed through with his pipe's swing, burying the weapon just below the Sea Stone plate over Blackbeard's stomach.

Blackbeard went flying. His feet left the ground and he didn't stop until he hit the ground several yards away, and even then he flipped and skidded for another few yards.

Ace shook out his fist, wincing as the broken fingers moved. "Left probably would've been better," he muttered. Then again, he had his dagger in his left hand.

"Luffy, don't move," Sabo said as he crouched over their youngest brother.

"How's it look?" Ace asked while keeping an eye on Blackbeard. Sabo was quiet for a few seconds.

"Looks like he got shot and slashed. Bleeding's heavy - I can't see how bad the wounds are."

"I got slashed earlier," Luffy said, wincing as Sabo prodded around the wound.

"At least it looks like it avoided anything vital," Sabo muttered. "Still, the blood loss is going to be a problem very soon. Penguin, we need Law or another medical personnel up here immediately."

 _"You got it."_

"Ngh."

"Blackbeard's moving," Ace called.

"One second. I'm just going to slow the bleeding." Ace heard the sound of tearing fabric. "Here, Luffy. Press down over the wound. Yeah, like that. Perfect."

A moment later, Sabo was at Ace's side, one of his sleeves missing.

The two watched as Blackbeard flipped himself over with a grunt and many unnecessary theatrics. "I'm taking him back," Ace said.

"The revolutionaries want to have a word with him," Sabo replied. Ace shook his head.

"I can acknowledge that, but he betrayed us. He has to and _will_ pay for his crimes against my family."

Sabo glanced at Ace and then sighed. "Very well. I can tell Dragon that you Whitebeards were...insistent."

Ace grinned. "Thanks."

"Now, Blackbeard, I believe I have a few debts to repay." Sabo walked forward, his pipe thudding against the ground in time with his steps. Blackbeard's confident expression was nowhere to be found; Ace felt a surge of vindictive pleasure at the fear in his eyes.

Sabo's pipe caught Blackbeard hard across the face, snapping the man's head to one side with so much force that, for just a moment, Ace thought that Sabo had snapped his neck. But no, Blackbeard was panting, holding his neck in pain.

"He's annoyingly durable," Sabo commented. Ace nodded while he sheathed his dagger.

"Can I borrow your pipe?"

"My pipe? Sure."

Ace tested it, raising an eyebrow at the heft while arranging his hands so that his broken fingers would take the least of the strain. "It's heavier than some."

"Lighter than others. I almost went with a Sea Stone type."

"I'm happy you didn't."

"W-wait, Ace," Blackbeard said, backing up slightly. He probably would've gotten to his feet, but Ace could see bruises on his ankle from Luffy's kicks and he wouldn't be fast enough no matter what he did. "You can think about this a little longer, can't you?"

"I can," Ace acknowledged, getting within range of Blackbeard. He brought the pipe back, the muscles in his arms and core tension in preparation. "But I'll come to the same answer."

Blackbeard tried to scramble away in the direction of his guns, but he was far too slow. With a wordless roar, Ace swung Sabo's pipe for all he was worth.

It cracked against the Sea Stone plate on Blackbeard's stomach. For that split second, Blackbeard's expression turned smug, but Ace didn't lose his concentration for even a moment. With a resounding crunch, the plate shattered, the pieces spilling out from under Blackbeard's shirt. The man himself had gone white. Some of the pieces came out coated in blood from where they had dug into Blackbeard's stomach.

Ace stepped back, tossing the pipe back to Sabo. "Luffy."

The youngest brother, who had staggered over despite his wounds, stepped forward. He wound up his arm while his skin took on a pinkish tint. Blackbeard's eyes widened, but he couldn't do anything to avoid the hit; Ace's swing had stunned him.

Luffy let out a cry much like Ace's as he buried his fist in Blackbeard's damaged abdomen. The traitor coughed up blood, his eyes rolling up into his head as he slumped. Luffy's arm snapped back into place and then Luffy began to fall, his knees buckling beneath his weight.

But Ace and Sabo were there to catch him.

* * *

"Only a handful of deaths on top of at least thirty casualties...not bad, all things considered," Sabo said, leaning back into his couch cushions. "Of course, the police presence is going to be increased for the next few weeks."

"They'll forget all about this crap by winter," Ace said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Sabo rolled his eyes.

"You attacked police headquarters, Ace. They're not going to forget about it that quickly."

"In this city? Yes, they will."

A knock on the door barely gave the two brothers any time to react before Luffy barrelled into the apartment. "Sabo! Guess what!"

Sabo glanced at Ace and then at Luffy, who looked vaguely as though he had tried to have a boxing match with a leafblower. "Er...what?"

"Franky finished his motorcycle! It's so cool!"

"Is that why you look like you got thrown out of an airplane?" Ace asked with a grin. Luffy nodded.

"He drove me around in it. It was SUUUUUPEEEER cool!"

"You were careful, right?" Ace asked, eyeing Luffy's middle. The younger boy nodded.

"'Course! Chopper wouldn't let me do any of the dangerous stuff."

Sabo ruffled Luffy's hair. "Of course not, because he's actually responsible."

"He's younger than Luffy," Ace mumbled, but he had learned respect for the young doctor. After the fight at both Impel Down and headquarters, Chopper had been one of the most valuable doctors treating the wounded.

Sabo glanced at the windows. "Looks like it's gonna rain soon. Luffy, Ace, you guys'd better head back to your place. Don't want to get stuck here."

Ace and Luffy exchanged a look, and then both grinned impishly. Ace took the lead.

"Unfortunately, Sabo, I don't think Luffy is up for walking all the way back. And I can't carry him because of my hand." Ace waved the broken fingers in the air. "See?"

Sabo's eyes narrowed. "Are you _trying_ to stay here?"

Ace looked affronted and walked over to Luffy, pulling him into a one-armed embrace while Luffy mirrored his expression. "Sabo, we would never impose on your hospitality like that. Just who do you think we are?"

"My brothers," Sabo said, "who would do exactly that."

Ace and Luffy grinned. "Mean."

"You're the ones that are mooching free lodgings off me!" A lightbulb seemed to go off over Sabo's head and he smiled, but his smile wasn't out of happiness. "I'm going to charge you rent."

Ace's affronted expression went straight to offended. "Sabo! I'm your brother!" He presented Luffy. "And look at him! Could you really make him pay for rent? Look at that face." Ace reached forward and stretched out Luffy's grin. "See?"

Sabo sighed. "You're shameless, Ace."

Luffy's face snapped back to its normal proportions and Ace rested his arm on Luffy's head. "Have I ever claimed to be anything else?" Luffy ducked out from under Ace, causing the older man to stumble.

Sabo just shook his head with a fond smile. Then he stiffened. "I don't have enough food to feed all of us."

"I'll call Thatch," Ace offered. "The guy's like a mother hen when it comes to me eating right. I swear the guy has a heart attack if I mention missing a meal."

"You miss meals?" Luffy asked, his eyes wide. Ace laughed.

"Of course not! I tell him that just to see his reaction. It's funny every time. 'Course, he's going to ask for something in return...let's see. Sabo, do you have anything Thatch might like?"

"I don't think so. Wait - he's the chef of your gang, right?"

"Right."

"I can put him in contact with a gang that specifically smuggles rare spices. The kind that aren't often found here."

"Perfect," Ace declared. "He'd love that."

"Hey, Ace," Luffy said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you get it?"

Ace blinked, for a moment not understanding. Then he grinned and began unbuttoning his shirt. Both Luffy and Sabo circled around to Ace's back, watching as Ace's shirt fell to the floor.

There, spanning nearly the entirety of his back, sat the mark of the Whitebeard gang.

Sabo whistled lowly in appreciation of the tattoo. "I don't think we have to worry about you losing your memory again."

Luffy laughed and slapped Ace on the back. "It looks awesome!"

"Ow!" Ace playfully batted Luffy's hand away. "It's still healing, dumbass!"

"Sabo, Ace is being mean."

"How dare you do that to our little brother," Sabo said while he stepped in front of Luffy. Ace groaned.

"The whole world's against me, huh?"

Sabo grinned. "Oh, please. We're with you one hundred percent."

Ace slung his arms around both of them and pulled them close. All three shared grins. "You're both assholes," Ace declared. "But I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Oh, hush. You're the biggest asshole out of all of us," Sabo replied.

"Shishishi! You two are funny!"

* * *

Ace took a deep breath. His stomach was abuzz with nerves and he couldn't decide whether he should wear his hat or not. Eventually, he decided to just go without his hat, but the resolution of that issue didn't calm him whatsoever.

"Screw it," Ace muttered to himself. He turned to the door, ignoring the poorly-disguised amused looks from his fellow gang members. They knew what this meeting was about, but Ace didn't. He honestly had no idea why Marco would call him to the commander meeting room, and Ace was half-worried that it was about the stunt he'd pulled over a month ago at police headquarters.

Ace pushed open the door and stepped through, ready for anything -

Anything except the chorus of, "Congratulations!"

"What the-" Ace cut himself off, looking around in shock. He could see Thatch, Marco, Izo, Pops, Izo; all the commanders were there, and the room was strung up with multicolored decorations.

"Ace, buddy!" Thatch declared, dragging Ace farther into the room. "What's with the look? Cat got your tongue?"

"I don't - I don't know what this is about," Ace stammered out. Thatch grinned and turned to the rest of the people in the room.

"Did you sorry lot here that? He doesn't know!"

A chorus of laughter greeted Thatch's statement and Ace's confusion grew.

"Thatch, I still don't -"

Marco stepped forward and shoved a drink into Ace's hand. "Ace, you're being promoted to Second Division Commander."

Ace froze, shock rendering his mind blank. "I'm what?"

"Congratulations, fellow commander," Thatch said, shaking Ace a little to wake him up. "How do you feel?"

 _Second Division Commander?_

"Why?" Ace whispered.

Marco clapped Ace on the back. "Because we want you to be."

A tentative smile appeared on Ace's face. He looked around, feeling something indescribably warm fill him from the tips of his toes all the way to the top of his head at the sight of all his brothers, sisters, and father smiling at him. And, for the first time, Ace could identify exactly what that feeling was.

It was a sense of belonging. A knowledge that he was right where he was meant to be.

"Well?" Thatch asked. "You gonna answer my question?"

"I feel pretty great, Thatch." Ace's smile turned into a full-blown grin as he reached for the nearby meat platter. Then he amended that statement upon tasting the food. "Really great, actually. Really, really great."

END

* * *

 _ **Please review.**_


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